


When Misfortune knocks, open the door

by hadesisqueer



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adoption, Canon Compliant, Cinder Fall Backstory, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28410471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hadesisqueer/pseuds/hadesisqueer
Summary: “Do you know what I am?”“A Huntsman.”“Yep, that's what I am. And you know what our job is, right?”“Killing Grimm.”Qrow chuckled.“Well, yes, that's a big part of the job. But not all missions are about going around killing monsters everywhere. Sometimes we have to escort people to make sure they're okay. Sometimes we have to go undercover, and get involved in some ugly human stuff. When I was still at Beacon, my team and I got involved in some arms trafficking stuff. And more stuff like that.” he explained “The job of Huntsmen and Huntresses is to help and protect people from everything that intends to harm them.”He drank again.“And that's why I am here.” He continued. “To help you.”(Or the one when an adult actually helped Cinder)
Relationships: Cinder Fall/Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen & Cinder Fall
Comments: 60
Kudos: 295





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this the first time I ever try writing anything in English.  
> I'm not sure if I will continue this (I kind of have a plot in mind) but if I do I'll probably add more tags as I go.

Qrow had always disliked Atlas. 

It wasn't the city itself that he hated, though. It was a pretty nice place, if you ignored the fact that there was a city right below them that didn't have the same resources as them. He didn't hate its people, either, at least not all of them. Much like Mistral, his native kingdom (that he didn't exactly like, either), Atlas had some pretty decent people. Most of them abandoned the kingdom as soon as they had the chance, he'd found out.

No, what he really hated about Atlas was its fucked up system, its elitism, the whole military bullshit and the way most of its citizens thought they were the strongest kingdom in the world. More like the lamest, he thought, as he abandoned the streets and entered the hotel.

Pretty fancy place, he observed, walking through the lobby. The lobby was filled with people sitting in round tables, drinking and eating and laughing, and just enjoying themselves. He looked at the ceiling; it was made of glass, which probably explained the name of the hotel, the Glass Unicorn. The lobby was also decorated with some glass sculpture: a Beowolf, a Sabyr, an Ursa, a Sea Feilong... 

Qrow wrinkled his nose when he saw one in particular. Who the hell thought that an Apathy Grimm sculpture was a pretty decoration? Those things were creepy. A woman -an employee, he assumed- was vigorously cleaning the sculptures, even though they were already so clean that Qrow could see his reflection from afar.

He finally reached the counter, and he hit the bell, waiting for the receptionist to appear. As he looked around, he saw a sign, and once again, he was reminded why Atlas disgusted him so much.

«WE DO NOT SERVE FAUNUS».

Qrow grunted, resisting the urge to kick one of the glass sculptures. This hotel was the kind of place he hated the most, and he would definitely trash the place and leave before he got caught if it weren't because his mission was getting the place closed in the first place. So he kept his cool, and waited for a couple of minutes until the recepcionist (the owner, he guessed) appeared. She was a tall middled age woman, with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes and an arrogant expression on her very punchable face. 

“I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, sir” the woman said. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Uh, yes”.

She looked at him, skeptical. “Well, would you tell me your name, sir?”

“Qrow Branwen.”

The woman searched for his name on the reservation list. She blinked, and her expression soon went from arrogant to delighted.

“Oh, yes,” she said, her voice sounding much more polite. “Yes, yes, we were waiting for you, sir. One of the General's best men.”

Qrow suddenly wanted to vomit.

“Not exactly. But yeah, James and I are good... acquantainces.”

“Well, it is our honor to be of service for such an elite Huntsman as yourself, Mr. Branwen” she said, and he resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose again. “Your room is number 107. I will have someone show you the way.”

“I'm sure I can find it by myself...” Qrow started saying, but the Madame had already called someone.

“Cinder!”

Qrow's eyes narrowed for a second, recognizing the name. He turned around, as the woman cleaning the sculptures practically ran to meet them. Except, when he saw her face to face, he noticed that she was not a woman at all.

“Show Mr. Branwen the way to room 107”, The Madame said. The girl, Cinder, nodded quietly, as the Madame looked at Qrow. “I hope you can tell Mr. Ironwood... and Mr. Ozpin and Mr. Lionheart... how well we've treated you.”

Why would you care about what Lionheart would think of you? Is it because he's rich and famous even though he's a Faunus?, he thought, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he forced himself to smile.

“Absolutely, ma'am.” 

As he followed the kid, Qrow looked at the her again. She had black hair, short and tied in two messy buns. Her eyes were amber, with deep black bags under them, and judging by how thin she was, she was also clearly underfed. The girl also wore an impeccable white uniform, and had a pretty necklace on her neck that didn't fit with the rest of her look. 

The worst part? The more he looked at her, the younger she seemed. Qrow didn't expect her to be that young, although he shouldn't be surprised. When Raven and him were 'adopted' by the Branwen Tribe, they were around fourteen. But this girl... she looked even younger. What was she? Twelve?

They finally got into the room, which was as fancy as the rest of the freaking hotel.

“Thank you.” Qrow said to her, as nicely as he could. She nodded, and reached to the door to leave.

“Hey, kid.” Qrow said. The girl turned around.

“Yes, sir? She asked, with a scared tone. 

“Cinder, right?” He inquired, and she nodded again. “How old are you?”

Cinder blinked, confused.

“I- I think I'm ten, sir” She answered. 

“You think?”

“I'm- I'm sure I was adopted around a year ago, sir. I was nine by then. Sorry, I am not good at Math...”

“Neither am I, don't worry” He smiled, even though inside he was furious. But not at her. He gently patted her back, and the kid flinched. He grimaced. “Have a good day, Cinder. I hope I see you later.”

Cinder looked surprised.

“Th-thank you, sir. Likewise.” She said. She bowed, before leaving the room. As she did it, he heard her stomach growl, and Qrow clenched his jaw. 

Once she closed the door, Qrow sighed.

————————

The next day, after having lunch, he left the Glass Unicorn. First, he had a drink (okay, perhaps more than one) at a bar nearby. After that, when it was getting late, he went to a burger he knew from other visits. The owner, a wolf Faunus named Doug, was a retired Huntsman he'd met years ago.

He came back to the hotel carrying a paper bag with two big cheeseburgers and French fries inside. He found the Madame at the lobby, talking to another client. She saw him, and he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

“Good evening, Mr. Branwen.” She greeted him. “Are you enjoying your stay at the hotel?”

“Uh, yes, a lot, thank you.” He managed to answer. He looked around, and he saw Cinder again. 

She was cleaning the floor, while two blonde girls -the Madame's daughters, he'd learned- were clearly making fun of her, purposefully stepping right where Cinder had just cleaned, over and over again, and laughing about it. He frowned, and looked at the Madame. “Could I please get a glass of red wine, ma'am?”

He tried to make his words sound as slurred as possible. The cheap vodka smell helped, making him seem like a drunk ass.

“Of course sir, just wait here for a moment.” She replied. She left for a minute, and came back with the glass.

“Thank you, ma'am.” He said, taking a sip.

“You are welcome, sir. And please remember to tell Mr. Ironwood that-”

“Yeah, yeah, I got that”, he said, leaving her behind. 

He walked towards the girls. It was the same direction as his room, so there was nothing suspicious.

Except when one of the little brats passed by him -the one that wore a dress-, he pretended to stumble. Qrow spilled the wine on her, totally by accident.

“What the-!” The brat yelled, calling everyone's attention.

“Damn, I'm sorry.” Qrow said, though he was actually not sorry at all. He glanced at Cinder, and noticed that she was trying not to laugh.

“Yes, you should be, you-!” The brat continued to yell.

“Ivy!” The Madame interrupted her daughter immediately. “You will treat our clients with respect. It was an accident!”

“But--”

“No buts.” The woman interrupted again. “Go clean yourself.”

Her daughter looked outraged. She frowned, then left, mumbling.  
The Madame turned to Qrow.

“I apologize for my daughter's behaviour. She--”

“Don't worry, it was my fault.” Qrow cut her off. He looked at Cinder again. “Hey, kid. Bring me a bottle of this wine to my room, will ya? And an orange juice for the hangover.”

Cinder, who was still cleaning the floor, opened her mouth.

“I--”

“She will, do not worry.” The Madame said, looking at her. “Anna, finish cleaning.”

“What?” The other daughter frowned. “But I--”

“No buts” Her mother repeated, and the girl grunted.

“Good. I'm sorry, again.” Qrow said.

As he left, he made sure he stepped on the floor the daughter was cleaning.

It wasn't long after he entered his room that there was a knock on his door. He opened it, and Cinder was right there, holding a tray with a bottle of wine, an empty glass and another glass with the juice.

“Ah, yes.” Qrow smiled at her. He moved aside, clearly telling her to enter the room. Cinder looked confused.

“I- I'm not supposed to--”

“Please, come in.” He insisted. “I need your help with something. You can leave the tray on the bedside table.”

Cinder looked doubtful, but she ended up nodding. He got into the room, and he locked the door right after. She noticed, and got nervous, as she left the tray where he told her.

“What-- what do you need help with, sir? Did something break, or--”

“Well, I'm really drunk and puked a bunch of times, so now you're cleaning it.”

“I- what?” Cinder wrinkled her nose, confused. She looked around. “Where's the puke?”

“There's no puke. I didn't actually puke.”

“Then what am I cleaning?”

“Nothing.” He clarified. “That's just what you and I are going to tell your mother to explain why it took you so long to come back down there.”

Qrow took the paper bag from his bed, and gave it to Cinder.

“Here. For you. The juice, too.”

Cinder looked at him, surprised.

“What? I-- I can't--”

“C'mon, kid. You look like you haven't eaten in ages.” Qrow pursed his lips. “I hope you like cheeseburgers.”

Cinder blinked. She gazed at the bag, then at him. 

“Th-thank you, sir.”

He let Cinder sit on his bed, and he took the chair and moved it closer, so he could be in front of her. The child had started eating, avidly, and maybe faster than she should, as if she expected someone to come and take it away from her. He gave her the juice, and she drank it in two seconds.

Soon, she had finished.

“Well, I was right. That woman clearly hasn't been feeding you. ” He said. The girl raised her eyes to him. 

“I- She-”

“It's alright. Do you want more?”

She shook her head.

“I'm- I'm full. Thank you, Mr. Branwen.”

“Please, don't call me that. It makes me feel old.” He replied. “Just call me Qrow, okay?”

Cinder nodded.

“What do you want, sir- Qrow?” She corrected herself.

Qrow didn't answer immediately. He opened the bottle of wine she'd brought, and drank straight from it.

“Do you know what I am?”

“A Huntsman.”

“Yep, that's what I am. And you know what our job is, right?”

“Killing Grimm.”

Qrow chuckled.

“Well, yes, that's a big part of the job. But not all missions are about going around killing monsters everywhere. Sometimes we have to escort people to make sure they're okay. Sometimes we have to go undercover, and get involved in some ugly human stuff. When I was still at Beacon, my team and I got involved in some arms trafficking stuff. And more stuff like that.” he explained “The job of Huntsmen and Huntresses is to help and protect people from everything that intends to harm them.”

He drank again.

“And that's why I am here.” He continued. “To help you.”

“Help me? With what?”

“You're originally from Mistral, aren't you? From Jae-sang Bae's orphanage, right?”

Cinder's eyes narrowed.

“How-- how do you know--?”

“You could say-- I grew up there too.” Qrow grimaced. “They're involved in a pretty big child-trafficking operation that Mistral's government is trying to dismantle.” Qrow said. “It's almost dismantled, really; but we also found out about some Atlas citizens who 'adopt' kids from them. And that's why I, along with other Huntsmen, got sent here. To protect the children, collect some proof that the illegal adoption was precisely from Bae's orphanage, and getting the bastards who bought them in jail along with the traffickers.”

Cinder blinked.

“You mean-- like--?”

“Like the woman who bought you?” Qrow finished. “Yeah. I wouldn't be in this shitty hotel otherwise. Do I look like a person who'd hang out with her to you?”

Cinder shook her head.

“N-not at all.”

Qrow pursed his lips.

“That woman-- those brats-- what they're doing to you? It isn't fair. You shouldn't be treated like this.”

“Treated like what?”

“Malnourishing you. Mistreating you. Forcing you to work like this. Do they even pay you anything?”

“I'm her daughter, not her employee.” She said, miserably.

“You are a child, Cinder. You should be playing with other children, and going to school, not... this” Qrow grunted. “You deserve way better than this. Which is why, if you help me, I will be able to get you out of here.”

The young girl raised her head.

“How?” She asked. Her voice sounded both terrified and hopeful at the same time.

“Tell me your story.” He answered. “Tell me everything, how they treated you at the farm and how they treat you here, and let me record it. That way, once I ask for your adoption papers, I'll get enough proof to at least get you the hell out of here.”

Cinder still looked nervous, anxiety clearly showing through her eyes.

“And that's it?”

“Yes. That's it. Well, first I have to take a picture of you. Are you okay with that?”

She seemed to think about it for a second. Then she bit her lip, and nodded.

“I will. I will tell you. And yes, you can take a picture too.”

Qrow smiled at her, as kindly as he could.

“Good.” He took his scroll out of his pocket, and took the pic. “When I give you the sign, you can start talking. Talk for as long as you need to. Don't leave anything out, okay?”

Cinder nodded. Qrow put the record on, and he moved his head at Cinder, encouraging her to talk.

“My name is Cinder.” She started. “I'm ten years old, and I was raised at Jae-sang Bae's orphanage in Mistral.”

“How were you treated at the orphanage?”

“Badly.” Cinder replied. “I was always hungry, because they barely gave us food, and the other kids always stole mine. The adults let them be mean to me. They also made me clean when the others played, and would hit me if I didn't.”

Qrow resisted the urge to grunt. He moved his head, telling her to keep going.

“A year ago, an Atlesian woman showed up at the orphanage, and she took me to Atlas, to this hotel.” She continued.

“Your adoptive mother.”

“Yes.”

“Does she treat you like a daughter?”

“No, she doesn't. She only took me so she wouldn't have to pay an employee. This is- this is worse than the orphanage.” Cinder replied, her voice shaking. “She-- she doesn't feed me. Ever. I-- I have to eat the scraps the clients don't want, or steal something when her daughters aren't looking. She makes me sleep in the storage room- I don't even have a bed, I sleep on the floor. And I have to cook, and clean, and take care of everything, all the time, and- and if I don't do it right, she punishes me. She- she loves to punish me.”

Cinder paused for a second; the poor child looked like she was about to cry. Qrow was going to tell her that she could stop if she wanted, but she resumed:

“And her daughters-- they hate me. I don’t know why. They make fun of me all the time, and their mother encourages them. They love making messes so I have to work more, and they-- they try to get me in trouble on purpose so their mother punishes me. They know what she does to me and they still do it anyway--” A tear slid down Cinder's cheek.

“Does your-- that woman hit you often?” Qrow asked, concerned.

She shook her head. 

“No, she doesn't need to.” She took her hand to her necklace. Qrow looked at it, focusing more on it this time. It was a rather pretty necklace, that, as he has thought earlier, didn't fit at all with how Cinder was dressed. It had a beautiful yellow stone in the middle.

“Can I see that necklace a bit closer?”, he asked, pointing at it.

“I- I can't take it off” Cinder replied, terrified.

“That's alright”, Qrow said. “It's really pretty. What's that stone, though? Citrine...?”

“It's dust.”

Qrow's eyes narrowed.

“Dust?”

“Lightning dust.” Cinder said. More tears slid down her cheeks. “She has a remote, and when she presses it, the-- the necklace--”

“It's a shock collar.” Qrow said, clenching his jaw, and Cinder nodded, starting to sob. He stood up, gently patting her back. The kid froze for a second at the contact, before realising that he wasn't going to hurt her. But that little second broke Qrow's heart.

He was trying so hard not to go down there and trash the whole hotel. He didn't want to throw that bitch in jail. He wanted to kill her. 

He turned off the recording while he patted her back.

“Hey, hey, it's alright. It's okay, kid.”

“It-- it hurts. It hurts so much when she does it-- and- and-”

“She's not gonna do it again. Ever.” He told her, caressing her cheek and wiping the tears. “Okay, kid? Because I'm not gonna let her. Alright? I won't let her hurt you ever again. I promise.”

He kept patting her back, and took a napkin and gave it to her. After a couple of minutes, she seemed to calm down.

“You better?” he asked her, and Cinder nodded. “I don't believe you.”

“I am.” She practically whispered.

“I have two nieces. I know when they're not okay because they're not smiling, and you're not smiling right now. So I won't believe you until you laugh.”

She blinked, and then smiled a little. It wasn't genuine.

“C'mon, you call that a smile? A little bigger, I know you can do it!” Qrow told her.

Cinder beamed at him, and this time, it was real.

“Ah, yes, there it is.” Qrow smiled as well. “You have a really pretty smile.”

“Thanks. You too.” Cinder replied awkwardly, and Qrow chuckled.

“Well, thanks.”

They were silent for a moment, until Cinder spoke again.

“What are their names?”

“Huh?”

“Your nieces.” Cinder clarified. “You said you had two, right? What are their names?”

Qrow was going to answer, but first, he took his scroll again, and went through the gallery. He gave the Cinder the scroll, who went from one pic to another.

“The one with reddish hair is Ruby, the youngest. She's two. And the blonde one is Yang, her older sister. She's turning five in four days.”

“They're adorable.” Cinder said. She went through another pic, and she wrinkled her nose. “Why is her hair on fire on this one?”

Qrow laughed.

“That's her semblance. She takes a hit and gives it back twice as hard.”

“Really? That sounds cool.” She said, in awe. Qrow raised his eyebrow.

“Yeah, well, it can activate when she's upset, and there we were cutting her hair for the first time, so... You can imagine how it went. That's why I call her Firecracker.” He said, and Cinder laughed a little too. “Did you find out what your semblance is too?”

She nodded.

“I can heat stuff. Like, superheat them, with my own hands. And shape them the way I want.” She explained.

“That's sounds really awesome” Qrow grinned.

“What's yours?” She asked.

Qrow pursed his lips. He didn't like talking about his semblance. Most of his colleagues didn't know about it. It was more of a curse than anything, but considering what that kid had told him...

“It's... complicated.” He said. “I bring misfortune.”

“Misfortune...? You mean your semblance is giving bad luck?”

“Yep.” He replied. “And I can't turn it off. It's always there.” He grunted. “It's really useful when you're fighting, but it makes life... a little difficult, sometimes.”

“Is that why you spilled your wine on Ivy? Because of your semblance?”

“Nah, I did that on purpose. The brat deserved it.”

Cinder laughed. She looked at the pic of Yang's hair in flames.

“Well, I think Ruby and Yang are lucky to have you as an uncle.”

Qrow looked at her, and he felt his heart melt. He couldn't help it. But it also hurt, because she was a lot like Raven, when she was her age. His sister had once been as kind and as good as this child right in front of him. Both him and Raven had been through a lot when they were kids. He had ended up alright (well, kind of). But Raven... She had gone back to the same people that bought them and treated them like shit and only wanted to use them so they could keep robbing and destroying villages. She'd become one of them, her friends, her family, her own daughter. And he still didn't understand why, or how, when years ago, she'd say those same words.

I'm really lucky to have you.

Qrow promised himself that that wouldn't happen to Cinder. He was going to get that kid out of there, and she would get the help she needed. She wasn't going to end up like Raven- or like him. She deserved better than that.

“Is that your weapon?” She asked, pointing at the sword. He nodded, standing up and taking it. He showed it to Cinder.

“Yep. Its name is Harbinger.” 

“It's so cool. ” Cinder said in awe. “And huge! How can you even lift that?”

“Aura and years of training, that is.”

“Is it a gun too?”

“And a scythe” he replied, grinning. “Do you feel ready to go downstairs?”

Cinder's smile faded. 

“I've been gone for too long. She's going to be so mad, even if I tell her about the puke...”

“Forget the puke, then. It was a dumb excuse anyway” Qrow said. “Besided, I'm gonna arrest her, so no need for excuses.”

“W-what? Right now?”

“Yeah. With your testimony, the adoption papers and that thing,” He pointed at the collar, with a disgusted expression “she'll be lucky if she ever gets out of prison. And as I've told you, people around me aren't exactly lucky.” He winked at her, and Cinder smiled a little.

Before leaving the room, he asked Cinder to take off the collar. She looked doubtful, but she did, and Qrow clenched his jaw again when he saw the scar on her neck.

They finally went downstairs separately, and he saw the Madame from afar, beckoning Cinder with her hand, as she went into the kitchen. Cinder looked at him, and he reassured him with a nod. She nodded too, and went inside the kitchen as well. He walked there, but stopped right at the entrance, watching the scene.

“... what in the world took you so long?” The woman yelled, with an aggresive tone.

“Our client asked me to help him.” Cinder replied. “So I did. I apologize for taking this long, but I did what I had to do.”

“And what did he need you to do, exactly, that took nearly two hours?”

Cinder just kept looking at her. She looked scared, but determined.

“Are you deaf?!” The Madame shouted. “Answer me!”

Cinder crossed her arms. The woman, grunted, and she took out something from her pocket: the remote.

Qrow felt something in his hand, and he looked at the collar electrifying him. Though bearable, it hurt even with his aura activated. So he couldn't imagine how much it hurt without it.

Cinder just looked at her, without reacting. The Madame frowned, and then looked at her necklace-less neck, turning pale.

“Where the hell--?”

“You looking for this?” Qrow spoke, and the woman startled, turning around. She saw Qrow holding up the necklace.

“What-- why--”

“You know, I always disliked Atlas for being elistist and racist, but I never thought they'd also sell these things.” He said, entering the kitchen, and looking at the necklace. “A very pretty thing, hiding a lot of cruelty and ugliness underneath. A lot like Atlas, really.” Qrow shrugged. “I shouldn't be this surprised.”

The Madame looked like she had been punched in the face. She looked at Cinder.

“What did you do, you--?”

“She helped me, ma'am. The kid isn't lying.”

“You will shut your mouth and leave my property this instant” The woman told him, with an aggressive tone. “If you don't want me to call the General and tell him that--”

“Ma'am, I don't give a shit about you calling the General because I don't even work for him.” Qrow cut her off. “I'm here doing a mission with his authorization, though. And I don't think that he'd give a shit about what you have to say either. You put a fucking shock collar on a child. 

Qrow and Ironwood weren't exactly friends; they respected each other, both being part of Ozpin's inner circle, but there were many things that they didn't agree with. Qrow knew that James wasn't the kind of man who would discriminate or abuse someone himself; he was generally kind to Faunus, and understood that Atlas had issues. However, he was the kind of man who would look the other way when someone was being discriminated or abused, because what could he -a General, one of the most important people in Remnant, who held a lot of political power- do about it? He and his kingdom was benefitting from it, anyway.

Still, he knew that not even Ironwood or a disgustingly elitist Atlesian judge would excuse this after having concrete proof like this. 

“Bring me the adoption papers. ” Qrow said.

“Excuse me?”

“Cinder's adoption papers. Bring them to me. ” He simply said.

“I'm sorry, who do you think you are--?” She started, outraged, but Qrow cut her off, showing his Huntsman license.

“Ma'am, you're in deep shit right now. So please, stop being an arrogant ass for a second and bring the adoption papers before you get in even deeper shit.”

The woman clenched her jaw.

“Alright. Wait here for a second” she grunted, and made to leave the kitchen, but Qrow stopped her.

“Wait.” He said, pointing at the remote, and before she realized, it wasn't on her hands any longer. “Wouldn't want to you to 'lose' our proof.”

She grunted again, before leaving.

Cinder breathed shakily. 

“Hey. Everything is gonna be alright.” Qrow said. “Okay?”

Cinder looked at him, her eyes like a scared little fawn's, and nodded.

The Madame came in a couple of minutes, holding a bunch of papers. She looked at Cinder with disdain, before handing them to Qrow.

He took them, skeptical, and started reading them quickly.

“Here it says that you adopted Cinder a year ago at the Men of Light orphanage, located on the number 9 of Cai Shen Avenue, Mistral. You took custody from Jun Park, owner of the orphanage.” He read, with a monotone voice.

“Indeed I did.” She said, angrily. “So, as you can see, everything's in order.”

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Ma'am, I'm from Mistral. I've been on Cai Shen Avenue a hundred times, and there hasn't been any orphanage on number 9 in twenty years. The restaurant there makes some delicious mochi, though.” He commented. “There also isn't anyone named Jun Park, either. It's the fake name of Jae-sang Bae, the child-trafficker who got arrested two months ago and gave the Mistral government some of the names of the people he had sold some kids. Yours was among them.” Qrow raised his gaze, and looked at her. “This just proves that he was telling the truth, actually. So thank you, for making this easier for me.” 

The woman was as pale as a wall.

“What-- what do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” Qrow repeated, and then he sarcastically smiled. “You are under arrest, what else?”

————————

It took fifteen minutes for the cops to arrive, and then Qrow had to explain everything to them. It only took a bit longer for the Social Services to get there. He saw a social assistant talking to the daughters of the the Madame, explaining the situation to the children, while he spoke with Ironwood on the scroll. The kids didn't look happy at all: one of them was angry, and the other cried. He couldn't blame them, considering they had just watched their mother taken away by the cops, but honestly, Qrow didn't feel any pity, either.

“So is the child alright?” Ironwood asked.

“Yes, she is. An assistant is talking to her right now. She's having a hot chocolate.”

“Good.” The General said. He then sighed. “You know, Qrow... Most Huntsmen, most of all of your status, wouldn't even bother to do this kind of stuff.”

You mean you wouldn't, Qrow thought, but he didn't say anything. Though Ironwood was right. Most Huntsmen wouldn't have taken this mission -which was really underpaid- and would have just left it for social services.

“You're a good man, Qrow. I hope you know.”

Qrow sighed.

“Thanks, James. See you in a while.”

They hung up. Qrow looked again at Cinder. She was sitting at one of the tables, quietly taking sips from a mug, while a social assistant watched over her. Qrow got closer. 

“Could you give us a minute?” He asked. The assistant looked at him, and then nodded, standing up and leaving with his co-worker. Qrow sat in his place. “Hey, kid.”

“Hi.” She said.

“You alright?”

She nodded.

“Hot chocolate tastes good.”

“It does, right?” He smiled with half of his mouth. 

Cinder looked at the woman's daughters for a second.

“What's going to happen to them?”

“They have an uncle in Mantle.” He said. “His house is nowhere near as fancy as this one, and he isn't that rich but he has enough money to raise them and take care of them. They'll be alright.”

“They hate Mantle, though. And their uncle.”

“I didn't say they were going to be happy about it.” Qrow shrugged. “But I think getting out of this bubble of privilege they live in will be good. A little slap of reality.”

Cinder nodded.

“And their mother?”

“She's going to prison. There will be a trial first, of course, but she's accussed of human-trafficking, slavery, child labor and child abuse, so there's no way that she's getting away. No matter how important she thinks she is.” He answered.

“Will I have to go to the trial?”

“No.” Qrow shook his head. “The recording is enough. You don't have to see her ever again.”

“Good.” She said, quietly.

She finished her hot chocolate.

“You want another?” Qrow asked her, getting up from his seat ready to get it, but Cinder shook her head.

“No, not right now.” She said, and Qrow nodded, sitting again. “The assistant said that we're staying here tonight. He said I can choose any of the free rooms. Even the General's one.”

“That's great.” Qrow grinned. “Isn't it?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Cinder shrugged. “He didn't know what will happen tomorrow, though. He said that they'll probably get me to an orphanage, and then look for an adoption or a foster home for me. He said that maybe they'll send me back to Mistral.”

She didn't look really upset, Qrow noticed, but she didn't look really excited about it either. And he couldn't blame her. Orphanages, foster homes... The system sucked. She knew she most likely would never get adopted again, and that she would probably have to live in an orphanage until she turned seventeen. But without her saying it, he also knew what she thought.

It's still better than this.

Qrow clenched his jaw, but before he could say anything, Cinder spoke again:

“So, what about you?” Cinder asked. “Will you go back to Mistral?”

Qrow shook his head.

“No, I live in Patch now, an island in Vale.” He answered. “But yeah, there's an airship waiting for me right now. It has to get me there before Yang's birthday, or her parents will kill me for breaking her pure heart.”

“So you came here to say goodbye to me?”

Qrow nodded.

“Yeah, I guess so. Just wanted to check if you were fine.”

“I will be.” Cinder smiled a little. “Thank you for helping me, Qrow. Say happy birthday to your niece for me.”

Qrow froze for a second. Then he sighed, and smiled.

“I will.” He said, getting up. He then petted her head, messing with her hair a little. “Goodbye, kid.”

“Goodbye.”

Qrow started to walk towards the exit. He turned around for a second, and took a glance at her. Would she be okay?

He sighed. He didn't like the idea that had just appeared in his mind, because it was stupid. He couldn't do it. He was a 27 year old single Huntsman with alcoholic tendencies and an awful semblance. He didn't even like kids!

He couldn't do it. 

However, when he turned around again to see her, he grunted. And before he could think about it again, Qrow looked at an assistant.

“Hey, you!” He called. The man looked at him.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Yeah.” Qrow said, before he could regret it. “You know where I can get adoption forms?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinder meets the rest of the family and is confused. Basically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta we die like gays

Cinder loved flying.

She had been watching the clouds the entire flight, at least until it got dark and she ended up falling asleep. When Qrow woke her up, light was getting inside the airship through the window.

“Hmm?”

“We arrived.” He told her. “We're in Patch.”

“Already?” Cinder rubbed her eyes, yawning. “What time is it?”

“Dawn.” He told her. “C'mon, you can go back to sleep when we get home.”

Home.

That word scared her. 

She stood up, and followed Qrow out of the airship. Light filled her eyes, and she wrinkled her nose. She also shuddered, when she felt the cold morning air in her face.

“Are you cold?” Qrow asked her.

“A little--” She started, but cut herself off when she saw Qrow taking off his cloak. “Wait, no, it's not necessary--”

“C'mon, I don't want you to get sick on my second day as a legal guardian.” He said, awkwardly, as he put the cloak around her. “You better?”

She nodded.

“Yeah, thank you.” Cinder replied, and smiled a little when he patted her head. The cloak smelled of cologne and wine, just like Qrow. She liked that smell. It made her feel safe.

Two days earlier, when she'd heard Qrow across the lobby asking for the adoption forms for her, Cinder hadn't fully believed it. She hadn't fully believed it when the day before, she had been informed that she had been, indeed, adopted by him. She hadn't fully believed it either when she got into the airship. And right now, already on the island he lived in, she still didn't really believed it, because it seemed like it was too good to be true. 

She hadn't had good experiences with adults. But Qrow was different from the others she'd met: he was a bit weird, and funny, and really cool, and so kind to her. Which is why she was scared that she'd screw it up in some way, and he sent her away...

She was brought out from her thoughts by a loud claxon that nearly gave the both of them a heart attack. They both turned around, startled, then looked at a red car right behind them.

Qrow grunted.

“Don't worry. That's just my stupid friend. He came to pick us up.” He explained to her, noticing how confused she was when she saw a man getting out of the car, and yelling:

“Hey, Bird Man! You coming or what?”

“Yeah, yeah, we're coming!” Qrow replied. He winked at Cinder, and then they walked towards the car. 

As they got closer, Cinder got a clearer view of the man waiting for them. He was a little shorter than Qrow, but noticeably more muscular than him, with something that resembled a heart tattooed on his arm. He wore cargo shorts with a brown belt, black shoes, fingerless gloves and a red bandana on his arm. On his shoulders, he wore two metal spaulders. He was also really tanned, with hair so blond that it looked like gold and blue eyes.

He waited for them leaning on the car with his arms closed. When they got closer, Cinder saw him beam at her, but she also noticed how his smiled weakened for a second when his eyes laid on her neck.

“Hey.” He said. “You must be Cinder, right?”

She nodded.

“Kid, this is Taiyang, my best friend. He's also Yang and Ruby's dad” Qrow said. 

“Yep, that's me.” The blond man added. “You can just call me Tai. Or Uncle Tai. I always wanted to be a cool uncle.”

“You're still missing the ‘being cool’ part, pal.” Qrow commented, patting his back. “Anyway, Cinder: you can just call him an idiot, too.”

“Hey, don't try to make her disrespect me from the start.” Taiyang wrinkled his nose.

“No adoptive child of mine will ever respect you.” Qrow simply said, crossing his arms.

“Whatever. Just get in the car, Bird Man.” Tai said, rolling his eyes. Qrow laughed, getting inside, and Tai opened the door for Cinder, since it was locked from the inside. 

“Thank you.” She said, getting in, and he beamed at her again. He had really kind eyes, Cinder thought.

“No problem, kid.”

Tai got inside too. As he started the car, he took a glance at her in the rear-view mirror, and noticed the cloak.

“Hey, are you cold, kid?” He asked her. “You want me to turn the heating on?”

“No, no, I'm good.” Cinder said, shaking her head. “It was just cold outside the airship.”

“Yeah, mornings on Patch get a little chilly.” Qrow said. “But it'll get warmer right away, as soon as the sun gets a little higher.”

“Yep. It's summer, after all.” Tai agreed, driving the car out of the parking lot, and getting on the road. “You'll see, you're gonna love it here, Cinder. A lot of nature, beautiful beaches, and it's not far from Vale City: it's just like a thirty-minute-long airship flight. We even have a combat school.”

“A combat school?” Cinder asked.

“Yeah, they're schools where kids go before they go to the Huntsmen Academies.” Qrow said. “Patch's is Signal Academy. Tai is a teacher there.”

“You're a Huntsman too?” Cinder looked at Taiyang in awe.

“Yep, I am. Qrow and I were teammates when we were students. We were part of team Stark.”

“Stark?”

“Yeah. S, T, R, Q. You can imagine who the T and the Q were.” Qrow told her. 

“Yep. We were the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon Academy.” Taiyang said, grinning. “Don't worry, kid. I'll tell you aaall his embarrassing stories.”

“And I'll tell your kids yours.” Qrow spatted.

“Whatever. I don't have that many. At least I never wore a skirt while we worked on our landing strategies.” Qrow grunted at this, and Tai laughed, as the car got out of the small town, getting inside a forest. 

“And... what kind of stuff do you teach at Signal?” Cinder asked, really curious. 

“This guy? Idiocy.”

“Shut up, Qrow.” Tai told him. “Well, Cinder, I concretely train kids at hand to hand combat. But there's also aura training, semblance training... we help kids unlock their semblances and learn how to use them. We also help kids to choose a weapon and design it themselves, and teach them how to fight with it.” Tai took a glance at Cinder. “Why? Would you like to go to Signal?”

Cinder blinked.

“Um-- I-- I'm not sure--”

“That's alright.” Qrow turned to her, with a half smile. “You don't have to decide if you wanna go or not right now.”

“Yeah, you have plenty of time to think about it.” Tai told her.

“Yeah...” Cinder said, and then her stomach growled loudly.

“And eat. First you gotta eat.” Qrow said, with a concerned expression.

“Oh, she's gonna. We're almost there.” Tai said. “Do you like cookies, Cinder?”

“I-- I guess so?”

“Good. Because Summer baked a lot last night. So I really hope you're hungry, Cinder, because I'm not lying when I say she made a lot. It's her only culinary talent, after all. I'm the one who usually cooks around here, but normally healthy stuff. Like broccoli or--”

“Yuck.” Qrow said, faking a nausea.

“Hey, broccoli is delicious!” Tai said.

“Nope, it's disgusting.”

“I like broccoli.” Cinder said.

“See? This kid knows.” Tai said. “Anyway, we're here.”

Taiyang parked the car in front of what seemed, from inside the vehicle, a wooden cabin. When Cinder got out of the car, she noticed she was right. The house was in what seemed like a clear in the middle of a forest, and it was big, built like a pretty large wooden cabin, with a red roof, a chimney and a porch on the side. Besides the doors, there were some sunflowers as gardening decoration.

It looked simple, nowhere near as fancy and luxurious as the Glass Unicorn, but really cozy and nice. At least from the outside.

“Well, welcome to the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen house.” Tai said, with his hands on his hips.

“It looks pretty.” Cinder said.

“Thanks. I built it myself.”

“Don't lie to her. We both know it was Summer who did most of the work.” Qrow laughed, and Tai rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go inside.” He said, walking towards the door. Qrow stayed behind with Cinder for a second, while she took off her cloak.

“Here. It's not cold anymore.”

“Alright, then.” Qrow said, picking it up and putting it on again. He gazed at her, with an expression of slight concern. “You good, kid?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.” She replied.

“You sure? Because Tai can be a lot. It's because he's really excited to meet you, but is he making you uncomfortable or--?”

“No, no, it's fine. Your friend is really nice. He seems cool.”

“But not cooler than me, right?” Qrow tilted his head to the side, with a fake frown. She shook her head, smiling a little, and he grinned and petted her head, messing with her hair. “C'mon, kid, let's get--”

“Hey, you two, come already!” Tai yelled, as he searched for the keys on his cargo pants.

“We're coming, you idiot.” Qrow answered, tiredly, and Cinder's smile grew a little wider, as they walked towards the door. Tai was still looking for the keys when they got there. 

“Oh, finally.” He said, taking them out from one of the pockets. He opened the door. “Welcome to the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen house.”

“You already said that.”

“Shut up, Qrow.” 

Cinder entered the house as Tai held the door open for her, and immediately thought that it looked just like the outside: simple, but cozy. She was at the living room right now. It was large, with a dark green couch and a big carpet beneath it, and a chair that matched the couch. In front of the couch there was a coffee table, and beside the couch itself there was another smaller endside table. In front of it all there was what it seemed like a TV stand, although there was no TV, but a projector. There were also some shelves with books on them, and the walls and the floor were also wooden. There was a doorway that lead to another room, and a wooden staircase.

Cinder inhaled. The entire room smelt slightly like pines.

“Honey, we're home!” Tai announced. 

“FUCK YOU!” was the only response from the following room.

Cinder blinked. Tai opened his mouth, confused. Qrow crossed his arms.

“Well, that's one way to say hello.”

“Uh... Honey?” Tai said, walking towards the doorway, and the other two followed him, entering a large kitchen with a dining table in it. At the workpot, there was a short woman with dark red hair and in pajamas, apparently fighting a coffee maker.

“This fucking shit broke again!” She yelled, hitting it.

“Maybe because you always hit it?” Tai suggested.

“Bullshit! It was defective since we bought it!” She grunted. “I'm not fixing this shit again. I'll buy another one in Vale tomorrow.”

“You'll just break it too. Just like the last five ones. Just accept that you don't know how to use a coffee maker.”

“Shut up, Qrow, or I'll kick your ass.” She snapped at him, before yawning. She then snapped her eyes open, and looked at him, as if she'd just noticed he was there. Then, for the first time since they got there, the woman's eyes laid on Cinder. “Oh. Hello. You're Cinder, aren't you?” 

Her tone had completely shifted from an angry one to a really gentle one, as she kindly smiled at the child. Cinder noticed that, much like Taiyang, when her eyes laid on Cinder's neck, that smile faded for a second, which made Cinder kind of subsconcious. Though at the same time, she didn't focus much on that; the woman had really pretty, big grey eyes. Silver, actually. Cinder had never met someone with that eye color. 

She nodded.

“Cinder, this madwoman yelling at a coffee maker is Summer. She's Ruby and Yang's mom, and Tai's partner, of course.” Qrow introduced.

“Yeah, that's me.” The woman, Summer, said. “The whole mom and partner part, I mean. I'm a sane woman.”

“If you say so.” Qrow shrugged, and Summer raised her eyebrows. She was gonna say something, but she was interrupted by Cinder's stomach, that growled even louder than at the car.

“Oh, are you hungry?” Summer asked. Cinder nodded again, a little embarrassed for the growl. “Oh, sweetie, just sit at the table. Qrow, you too. I made cookies.”

“Yeah, Tai told us.” He said, sitting in front of Cinder, as the woman turned around and crouched down to open the oven and get the cookies out.

“I made them last night, and kept then inside the oven turned off. They're still kinda warm, actually.” She said, taking out the oven tray with the cookies. Tai kissed her cheek, and passed her a big plate. “Thanks, honey.” She said as she put the cookies in the plate. “Can you get the milk?”

“Sure--” Tai started to say, but then they heard a high pitched voice yell:

“MOM! RUBY IS PLAYING WITH YOUR ARROWS AGAIN!”

Tai and Summer looked at each other for half a second.

“I'll get them.” Tai said. “You get the milk.”

“Alright.” 

Tai turned around and got out of the kitchen. Cinder heard him go up the stairs, yelling:

“Ruby, sweetie, we told you! Mom and Dad's weapons aren't toys!”

“Arrows?” Cinder asked, confused.

“Yeah, my weapons. Bow and arrows, and a halberd.” Summer explained, as she gave her and Qrow a glass of milk each. Cinder took a cookie and tried it. She opened her eyes, surprised: it was delicious.

But she was still curious.

“So, you're a Huntress too?”

“Yep. We were all on the same team at school.” Summer replied. “I was the S of team STRQ, the...”

“... coolest team to ever graduate Beacon.” Cinder finished.

“You've already heard the story, then.” Summer said, grinning. “Anyway, I was of course the coolest one because, in case this guy here didn't tell you, I was the leader of the team.”

“Yeah, and the shortest, too.” Qrow said.

“Hey, I'm not that short. You guys are just giants.”

“Whatever you tell yourself, shortest leader to ever graduate Beacon.” Qrow laughed when Summer hit him gently in the head. Cinder smiled a little. But then, she remembered something.

“Who's the R, though?”

“Huh?”

“Team STRQ. S, T, R, Q, wasn't it?” She asked. “There was an R, right? Who are they?”

Qrow and Summer looked at each other. They had stopped smiling.

“Um... Raven. My sister.” Qrow answered, scratching his head, as Summer lowered her gaze.

“You have a sister?”

“Yeah, but-- she's not around anymore.”

Cinder turned a little pale.

“Oh...”

“She's not dead.” Qrow clarified, seeing her expression. “She's just-- not around. It's complicated.”

“I'm sorry.” Cinder said. “I shouldn't have asked--”

“No, no, sweetie, don't worry about it.” Summer smiled at her.

It seemed like she was gonna say something else, but then she was interrupted by what looked like a small golden tornado that entered the kitchen and tackled Qrow.

“Oof!” The poor man said, trying not to fall of his chair as the creature hung off his arm. The creature was actually a little blonde girl with pigtails. Cinder blinked, and recognized her from the pics Qrow had showed her at the hotel.

“Uncle Qrow!” The child said excitedly. “We missed you so much! Did you miss us? Did you miss us?”

He grinned.

“Nope.” 

“Liar.” The kid said, pouting, and Qrow messed with her hair, and she let go of him, going to her mother. “Good morning, Mom!”

“Good morning, sweetie.” Summer crouched down for a second to kiss her forehead, and asked: “Where are your dad and your sister?”

“Dad is still trying to dress Ruby.” The girl said. “But Dad said that uncle Qrow was here, so when he dressed me I came. Can I eat some cookies?”

“Of course. I'll get you some milk too.” Summer said, and she lifted the child and sat her on the chair beside Cinder. 

The child tried to get a cookie, but she couldn't reach the plate with her arm, so Cinder took it a bit closer.

“Thanks!” The child said.

“You are welcome.” Cinder replied, taking another cookie for herself. As she ate it, she noticed the girl was staring at her with her big lilac eyes. 

That made her a little nervous. At the orphanage, the other kids always stole her food, and bullied her, and laughed at her. The Madame's daughters were even worse, because not only would they bully her and mess with her work and not let her eat: they would also try to get her in trouble so their mother would punish them (knowing what the punishment was), and laugh about it. So Cinder's experiences with other kids hadn't been exactly great, just as with adults. Which is why, even though the kid was like half her age, she couldn't help but to be a little scared.

But the kid didn't do anything bad to her. She just tilted her head to the side, confused.

“Who are you?”

“Um-- I'm-- uh--” Cinder tried to say, still nervous, but she couldn't form the sentence. Qrow noticed, and said it for her:

“Kid, this is Cinder.”

The girl's eyes opened.

“Aaahh, yes! Mom and Dad told me yesterday! You're our new older sister!”

“Cousin.” Summer corrected her, but the child ignored it.

“Your eyes are very pretty!” She said.

“Um-- Yours are too?” Cinder tried. 

“Thank you! My name is Yang.” She smiled, genuinely. “This is great! I always wanted an older sister!”

“Cousin.” Both Qrow and Summer said, but Yang ignored it again.

“Besides, don't you have enough with Ruby?” Qrow asked her.

“Of course I do, but the more, the happier.”

“I think you mean the more, the merrier.” 

“I know what I said. I love Ruby. If anyone hurts her I'll kick their sorry ass!”

“Hey, don't say words like that!” Summer scolded her, as she put a glass of milk in front of Yang. “Where did you even hear that?”

“Probably from you while you were screaming at the coffee maker like ten minutes ago.” Qrow commented.

“I think he might be right, babe.” Tai said, entering the kitchen, holding a toddler. Cinder recognized her from the pictures too. Ruby looked a lot like her mother, she thought now that she saw both of them; she had the same reddish hair and her eyes were exactly the same color as Summer's. The toddler was now pulling from her father's hair. “Ouch, ouch, Ruby! Summer, a little help!”

“You deserve it.” She simply said.

“Uncle Cow!” Ruby excitedly babbled, when she saw Qrow sitting at the table. Tai, Summer and Yang laughed. Tai let Qrow take her when she saw that she was raising her hands at him.

“She can't pronounce my name yet.” Qrow explained to Cinder, who was a little confused. He then looked at Ruby. “Pipsqueak, it's Qrow. Qrow.” He said, slowly.

“Cow.” Ruby said, also slowly, and this time, Cinder laughed with the others as Qrow sighed.

“Ruby, this is Cinder, our new sister!” Yang said, pointing at her.

“Cousin.” This time, Tai joined Summer and Qrow, and Yang shrugged.

“Okay, cousin, I don't care.”

“Cin?” Ruby asked.

“Cinder.” Yang repeated, really slowly.

“Cin.”

“Ciiin-deeer.”

“Cin.” Ruby insisted. Yang sighed.

“She can't say it either.” She explained. “No, it's not that. It's Ciiin--”

“It's alright, I don't mind.” Cinder said.

“Can I call you Cin too?” Yang asked.

“Uh-- sure?”

“Cool!” Yang said. 

“Hi, Cin.” Ruby waved her little hand at her, smiling. Cinder awkwardly waved back. She didn't really know what to do, to be honest. It was the first time kids seemed to be nice to her, and that was both a relief and confusing.

“Cinder, do you want more?” Qrow asked, pointing at her empty glass of milk. Cinder shook her head.

“No, thanks. Actually, I can't even eat anymore.”

“Well, you ate like half of the cookies all by yourself, so it makes sense.” Summer said.

“I'm sorry--”

“Oh, no, no, don't apologize, sweetie. I made them just for you after all. I normally never make cookies for breakfast.”

“You never make breakfast. Actually, you can't cook anything that isn't cookies or a sandwich. Period.” Qrow said.

“Yeah, I'm the one who's always cooking.” Tai said.

“Shut up, both of you. Qrow, you can't even do anything.”

“Excuse you, I happen to cook delicious ramen and steaks.”

“Yeah, but you burnt our last oven!”

“That was you, honey.”

“Shut up.”

The kids laughed again.

“Mom, can I show Cinder the house?” Yang asked.

Summer and Qrow looked at each other.

“Well, if that's fine with her...” Qrow looked at Cinder, questioning her.

“Um, yeah, don't worry.” Cinder said, standing up from her chair. If she was going to live with them, she had to get used to the kids, even if she still was a little nervous.

“Okay, then. But remember what I told you.” Summer said.

“I will!” Yang got off her chair. 

She took Cinder's hand, and without being too brute (she was like five, after all), she dragged her out the kitchen.

“This is the living room!” Yang said. “It's where we usually watch movies and where Mom, Dad and Uncle Qrow talk about boring stuff when they aren't in the kitchen. C'mon, let's go!”

Cinder found herself being dragged again, this time upstairs.

“This is the bathroom!” Yang pointed at a closed door right when they reached the top floor. “There's only one, and when Uncle Qrow's here he spends a lotta time looking at his hair in the mirror.” 

Cinder followed Yang when the child walked towards another door. She stood tiptoe for a second to reach the doorknob and opened it.

“This is my room!” Yang excitedly said. The room had two beds, one with red sheets and another one with orange ones. “It's also Ruby's, and that's her bed, but right now she still sleeps with Mom and Dad in her craddle because she's too little.” She told Cinder, and she rushed to the door right in front of her room. “This is Mom and Dad's room. Their bed is huge because they sleep together in it. Sometimes when Ruby and I have bad dreams we sleep there too, so I guess you can too. But maybe you will call Uncle Qrow, so that's his room.” Yang pointed at one of the last rooms.

Cinder curiously opened the door herself. Compared to the other rooms, Qrow's was plain, with little or not decoration at all.

“And that's yours.” Yang pointed at the last door. Cinder opened it again. 

Her room was almost as plain as Qrow's, with only one bed just by the window, a bedside table and an empty shelf. The only decoration was a vase on the bedside table with sunflowers, and a little note beside it that said «WELCOME HOME, CINDER» with children's calligraphy and a drawing of a smiling face.

“It's really boring.” Yang said. “It used to be the spare room, so Mom, Dad and Uncle never decorated it. But they said you can decorate it and paint how you want now!”

“It's great.” She took the note. “Did you do this?”

Yang nodded.

“Dad helped me because I can't write yet, but I wanted to be nice.” She said, smiling. Cinder smiled too. It wasn't very big, but it was genuine.

“Thank you.” She told her, and Yang's smile grew wider.

“You wanna go outside? I still have to show you the shed!” She asked her. Cinder scratched her head.

“Um, sure.”

“Cool, follow me!”

They got out of the room, and went downstairs. At the living room, they saw the three adults getting out of the kitchen, Qrow still holding Ruby.

“Hey, where are you going?” He asked.

“I'm gonna show her the shed!” Yang said.

Qrow hummed. He looked at Cinder, and again, she saw the same question: You good, kid? So she lightly nodded.

“You sure you don't wanna go back to sleep, Cinder?”

Cinder shook her head.

“No, for real, I'm fine.”

“Alright, then. But be careful.” Summer took Ruby from Qrow, and put her down. “And take your sister with you.”

“Okay!” Yang said, and she took her little sister's tiny hand. “C'mon, Ruby!”

As the three kids went outside, Qrow let himself fall on the chair, as Tai and Summer did the same on the couch.

“Well, they seem to like each other.” Tai said.

“That's a relief.” Qrow said. “She hasn't been treated fairly by neither kids or adults, so...”

“Yeah, poor thing.” Summer said. “She seems so sweet and polite... And her neck... What kind of fucking monster would ever do that to a kid?”

“You said it yourself, a fucking monster.” Tai said. “I'm surprised that all you did was throwing her in jail, Qrow. I don't know if I would have had that much self-control.”

“Yeah, it was really hard not to punch her. A big part of me wants to go back to Atlas and beat the shit outta her.”

“Sign me up if you do.” Summer suggested, and he showed half a smile. “But what are you gonna do now?”

Qrow raised his gaze at her.

“Huh?”

“I mean, now that you've adopted her. Are you gonna still do long missions, or--?”

“Sometimes, for Ozpin. But I heard that there was a free spot as a teacher in Signal, so--”

Tai snorted. 

“Sorry.” He said when both Qrow and Summer looked at him. “I just-- I can't imagine you as a teacher.”

“Yeah, well, a week algo I didn't imagine myself being in charge of a ten-year-old kid and here I am.” Qrow complained.

“That's true.” Summer pointed out.

“Well, whatever. I can talk to the headmaster.” Tai shrugged. “He'll probably accept you the moment he sees your status.”

“Thanks.” Qrow said. “I guess I also should start looking for a house or an apartment--”

“What?!” Summer yelled, startling the two men.

“I just-- I don't want us to be a bother for you guys. One thing is staying here the few weeks when I'm not in missions and another is staying permanently, and with another kid--”

“Bullshit.” Tai said. “You aren't a bother at all. And neither is that kid.”

“But--” 

“You're not going anywhere.” Summer said. “This is your house too, and there's plenty of space for all of us here! And you're new at this whole parenting thing, so trust me when we tell you you're gonna need help. At least Cinder doesn't need anyone to change her diapers.”

The three laughed a little at this.

“You helped us when Yang was born. A lot.” Tai said. “And when Ruby was born too, you did it again. You still do. So stop being dumb, Bird Man. You aren't a bother.”

“Besides, we already told Yang she's staying here so if you leave you're gonna have to explain.” Summer said, and Qrow smiled a little again. It wasn't only the space, or intimacy, that worried him. A part of him believed that he shouldn't even have adopted Cinder. Not because he didn't like the kid; she was kind, and sweet, and adorable. No, it was that, by taking her with him, he had doomed her to be close to him, to his semblance. He didn't want to curse his nieces too.

But with his friends next to him, he knew they wouldn't let him leave, or say he was cursed. Bullshit, stop brooding, you idiot, they'd say. You're amazing, and you're not cursed, dumbass.

“So, we were thinking--” Tai started.

“That's new.”

“Shut up. Tomorrow is Yang's birthday, and we already told her we'd take her to Vale to spend the day. So, since we're already going, we could also take the opportunity and buy some stuff for Cinder. You know, some decoration or painting for her room, and maybe some clothes she likes.”

“Yeah, she definitely needs new clothes. The ones she's wearing are too big for her.” Summer said.

“That's because they're her stepsister's. There were the only clothes around that weren't her uniform.” He said.

“Well, that settles it, then. We'll go shopping tomorrow.” Summer said.

“Yeah, but I'm not letting you guys alone with her. You'll turn her into an emo and she will start wearing cloaks and capes inside the house.” Tai snorted.

“Hey, don't you dare insult the cloaks.” Summer threatened him. “It's our aesthetic.”

“Besides, you have no right to comment on our fashion choices. You wear cargo pants.” Qrow pointed out.

“Hey, cargo pants are cool!” 

“Whatever you tell yourself, babe.”

Qrow and Summer laughed while Tai complained, and as they did that, Yang had already shown Cinder the shed.

“And that's all. Well, there's also the trees, but nothing else. That one is my favorite.” Yang pointed at the biggest one.

“Why?”

“It's just pretty, and really shady. Mom sometimes sits with us under it and reads us stories.” Yang explained. “Wanna sit?”

Cinder shrugged.

“Okay.”

“Great. C'mon, Ruby!” Yang told her, still holding her little sister's hand.

Cinder let herself down under the tree, beside the little girls, sitting on the soft grass.

“So, did you like the house?” Yang asked her. Cinder nodded.

“It's really pretty.”

“Right? It's the best house in the world.” Yang smiled. “You'll see, you will love it here. Right, Ruby?”

Ruby nodded, although she was distracted watching a butterfly and Cinder wasn't sure she understood.

“Mom and Dad are the best. And Uncle, too! They're Huntsmen, did you know? The best of the best. Mom is so good she can kill Grimm looking at them!

Cinder wrinkled her nose.

“I'm serious!” Yang insisted. “Once, while we were closer to the forest, an Ursa appeared and she just looked at it and it turned to dust!” Yang crossed her arms. “But no one ever believes me when I tell them.”

“I do.” Cinder told her, though it was a lie. 

“Thank you!” Yang said. “When I'm older, I'm gonna be like them.”

“You wanna be a Huntress?”

Yang nodded.

“And Ruby too, right?” She asked her, and Ruby nodded again. “We will go to Beacon like Mom, Dad and Uncle, and then we will travel the world killing monsters and helping people too!”

Cinder smiled a little.

“I'm sure you two will be great Huntresses.”

“Thanks.” Yang beamed at her. “You wanna be a Huntress too?”

Cinder scratched her head.

“I don't know.” She replied. “I've never thought about it, really. But I would like to help people, too.”

“Well, if you decide to be Huntress too, then you can come with us and we could all save the world together!”

Cinder smiled again, this time wider.

“Now that would be nice.”

“Yep.” Yang said. Then, her face turned a little more serious. “Mom and Dad told me that before Uncle Qrow helped you, you lived with a mean lady and two girls that treated you badly.”

Cinder's smile faded.

“Yeah. I did.”

“How awful.” Yang said, frowning. “Why would anyone be mean to you? You're so nice! Right, Ruby?”

“Nice.” Ruby agreed.

“Where are those people now?” Yang asked.

“They're still at Atlas. The woman is in jail.”

“Good. Because if they came here, I would kick their ass for being bad to you.”

“Your mother doesn't want you to say that word.”

“But she says it! Adults are so weird.”

“You're right, they are.” Cinder agreed.

“Like, they told me and Ruby to be kind to you. As if we needed it. You're so nice! Why wouldn't be kind to you?” Yang shrugged. “You are our family now, right? So we love you. That's it.”

Cinder blinked, not knowing how to answer to that. But she didn't have to, because they all got startled by the sound of a bird squawking. 

It was a big raven, with red eyes that were staring directly at her, almost... Judging her. That made her uneasy.

“Let's go back inside, okay?” She asked.

As they walked towards the house, she heard another squawk. Cinder turned around for a second. The raven was still looking at them. 

—————

The rest of the day went on easily and nicely. They spent the rest of the morning playing cards with Qrow; or more like, Yang and her lost against him a bunch of times while little Ruby watched until Tai called them for lunch. During the afternoon, Cinder first showered and then they simply watched a movie. It was cartoons, too childish for Cinder's likings, but she didn't mind. She ended up dozing off anyway.

When she woke up, she wasn't on the couch with the kids, though. It took her a few seconds to recognize her new room. She blinked, and yawned. It was the best sleep since she could remember. 

She looked at the sky outside the window, and saw the light of dawn on the horizon. Damn, Cinder really had slept. She got up from the bed, and stretched herself, before exiting the room and going downstairs. When she got to the living room, she saw light coming out of the kitchen, so Cinder walked there. Inside, Summer and Tai seemed to be preparing something.

Summer turned around, startled by the footsteps, and she then saw her and smiled.

“Hey, good morning!”

“Good morning.” She replied.

“Did you sleep well?” Tai asked her. She nodded.

“How long did I sleep?”

“Around twelve or thirteen hours, I think.” Summer told her. “Qrow took you to bed. He didn't last much longer than you, after the whole trip.”

“Are you hungry?” Tai asked her, and she nodded, awkwardly. “I'll make something for you then. Do you like cereal?” Cinder nodded again. “Alright, sit down. Sum, can you finish decorating?”

“Of course, babe.”

Two minutes later, Cinder had a big bowl of cereal right in front of her. She started eating it with urge.

“So,” Cinder started to ask “why are you up this early?”

“Well, today's Yang's birthday.” Summer answered. “So we're finishing her cake before she wakes up.”

“Which will be soon, so we have to hurry. That kid is like the sun, she always rises at dawn.” Taiyang wrinkled his nose.

Cinder took a glance at the big cake they were making: it was chocolate and cream, with the words “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YANG!” written in glazed.

“Anyway, we're blowing the candles, eating the cake and opening the gifts and then we're leaving, so you better get ready.”

“Where are we going?” Cinder asked.

“Vale City. To spend the day and eat there, you know.” Tai said. “Qrow's also taking us shopping for you, buy you some clothes and stuff. So Yang's not the only one getting new things today.”

“I really don't need--”

“Yes, you do. Those clothes... they don't fit you at all.” Summer said. “Some new ones will be great for you. Maybe a new hairstyle too?”

“Yeah, makeovers always make me feel good.” Tai said, and Summer rolled her eyes.

“You haven't changed your style since I met you ten years ago.”

“Neither has Qrow, though. Nor you.”

“Lies. I cut my hair and got different dresses. You've been wearing cargo shorts since you hit puberty.” She laughed.

“Whatever, they're comfortable.” Tai grunted. He then looked at Cinder. “Anyway, when's your birthday?”

“December.” She replied.

“Which day, though?”

“I know it was like at the middle of December. No one knows the day exactly, but officially it's 17th of December. At least in my documents.” Cinder shrugged. “I've never celebrated it, though, so it's not important.”

Tai and Summer looked at each other. Whatever they were thinking, got interrupted by a high pitched scream:

“IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!”

“Oh, boy, here we go.”

————

Yang set the napkins on fire when blowing the candles, so the first fifteen minutes of the day were entertaining. 

“I wanna open the gifts!” Yang said. “Dad, please, please!”

“When you're finished eating the cake.”

Yang started to eat so fast that the others laughed and Summer told her to slow down.

Once they all had finished it, they started opening her gifts. There were some toys, like dolls or tiny wooden swords (too big for Yang, and apparently too boring too), and some books. One of the books in particular, was one with pictures of Grimm, gifted by Qrow. Cinder didn't know what kind of appeal would pictures of monsters have to a five year old child, but Yang was fascinated.

“Look, Ruby, it's so ugly!” Yang said, pointing at one. She squinted her eyes, reading the name. “It's a Sabyr. They live in Solitas.” Yang looked at Cinder. “You lived in Solitas, right? Did you see any of them.”

“Only glass sculptures.” Cinder said.

“Glass sculptures? That sounds so cool!” Yang said.

“It does?” Summer said, wrinkling her nose, as Cinder had an idea.

“I can make you a little one, if you want.” She offered to Yang.

“You can?” Summer looked at her.

“Yeah, I can do it right now. I just need a rock, or something like that.”

“A rock?” Tai blinked. “Okay, I'll be right back.”

He went outside the house, and came back a minute later with a rock as big as his fist.

“This will do?”

“Yes, that's perfect.” Cinder said, taking the rock between her hands. She looked at it, remembering the shape of the Sabyr (she had cleaned its statue so many times it was easy for her), and frowned, concentrating. Her hand began heating the rock, until it was almost melted, and with her other hand she shaped it.

It took her barely a few seconds, then her hands stopped heating the rock and it got instantly cold, turning into black glass. 

“There you go.” Cinder said, and she put the little Grimm on the table. “A Sabyr.”

Tai, Yang, Summer, Ruby and Qrow blinked at the same time, their mouths opened.

“What-- how--?” Summer started.

“It's her semblance.” Qrow said, just as stunned. “Superheating stuff and shaping them, right?” Cinder nodded, and Qrow smiled. “Damn, kid, you didn't tell me you were so good with it.”

Cinder shrugged, awkwardly.

“I practiced a lot when I lived in Mistral.” She said. It was one of the only few things she enjoyed at the orphanage.

“Well, this is amazing.” Tai said, taking the Sabyr and looking at it closely.

“Yeah!” Yang agreed. “Can you make another one of an Ursa? Or a Beowolf?”

“Maybe later, kid, if she wants.” Qrow said, looking at the clock. “If we don't hurry, we're gonna miss the airship to Vale.”

—————

The trip wasn't longer than an hour, but with Yang constantly asking ‘Are we there yet? Are we there yet?’ Cinder knew it felt longer for the adults.

When they finally got down, Cinder observed the City of Vale, fascinated. Its buildings were tall and beautiful, though not as Atlas'. The city itself didn't look nowhere near as fancy as Atlas, but it did look a lot better than Mantle and some certains parts of Mistral. The streets were filled with people just hanging out and walking around just minding their own business. As they passed a cafeteria, she saw a Faunus woman with rabbit ears and a human getting out of it; the man was holding the hand of a little girl with rabbit ears that was smiling at her mother. Qrow, Tai and Summer waved at the man, saying ‘Hey, Will!’ He waved back at them. Cinder blinked.

“That's Will Scarlatina and his family.” Qrow explained to her. “He worked in the Beacon CCT Tower when we were students, and since he wasn't much older than us, we kind of--”

“Hung out together from time to time.” Summer said.

It wasn't that they knew him what surprised Cinder, though. It was that he apparently was married to a Faunus, and had a child with her. Cinder knew she shouldn't be surprised or think like that. She didn't like Faunus discrimination, and had nothing against interracial couples: she was just not used to see them because they weren't common in neither Mistral or Atlas.

They walked around the city to what it seemed like a more commercial area, and Qrow then put his hands on her shoulder. 

“Well, kid, where do you want to start?”

“Um--” Cinder looked doubtful. “I don't know.”

“How about we go get you some clothes?”

“Alright.”

—————

Cinder's doubts when she got into the shop disappeared. So many different clothes, so many different colors... She was sick of wearing white.

So she tried on a lot of clothes, and decided she really liked shopping. It was fun. But since Summer and Qrow were all recommending her different things (Tai had gone to a park with the girls), Cinder started to be a little stressed. At least until the shop manager came by and she started listening to her.

“You have really pretty amber eyes, so colors like red, black or yellow could really bring them up.” She told her, when she was deciding which hoodie to buy. “I recommend you buy the red one, though. It just looks better on you.” 

By the time Qrow thought Cinder had enough clothes for at least a while, he and Summer were more hangers than humans, and Cinder wasn't wearing her stepsister's clothes anymore. Instead, she was wearing a crimson qipao like shirt with no sleeves and yellow detalles and two cuts on the sides (Mistral style), and black pants and shoes.

“You seem to really like red and black.” Qrow noticed, seeing a lot of the shirts. “Are you sure you don't want more clothes?”

Cinder nodded. 

“These are a lot.”

“At least for a while, yes. I'll have to take you to get some more again some time soon, though.”

Cinder was gonna say something, but she saw something as they as they passed by: a bunch of black choker collars. She stopped, and she took one.

“You like those?” Qrow raised his eyebrows.

Cinder shrugged.

“They look nice.” She said, and she scratched her head. “Besides, it would cover my scar. I don't like how people keep staring at it.”

She wasn't exaggerating. While in the shop, or the streets, or the airship, people's eyes would lay on her neck, and she could see the pity in them. Cinder didn't like that. It made her uncomfortable.

Qrow grimaced, and nodded.

“Of course.”

By the time they got out of the shop, Cinder was also wearing a fabric choker on her neck, and people weren't staring at it anymore. Qrow and Summer were both holding like five bags each, and then, Summer stopped.

“Hey!” She called. Cinder and Qrow turned around, and she pointed her head to a hairdressing salon. “Remember what we were talking about earlier?”

“Um-- Yes.” She said. Qrow looked at her. 

“Do you want to?”

Cinder thought for a second, and then nodded.

“Good.” He then handed all of his bags to Summer, who frowned. “I'm going to buy some bedclothes meanwhile, then.”

“Okay, then.” She complained, and then Qrow petted Cinder's hair, winking before leaving.

—————

If Cinder had seen herself a week ago, she wouldn't have recognized herself. The new clothes, the choker, the hair... She looked so different.

By the time she and Summer left the salon, Cinder's hair wasn't tied in buns anymore. It had been cut a bit shorter, pixie-like, and it was down, a little spikier, and it fell over her left eye. 

“Damn!” Qrow said when he saw her, as he carried another two bags. “You look good, kid.” He told her.

“I know, right?” Summer said, before giving Qrow his bags back. “Here, you traitor.”

Qrow rolled his eyes.

“Tai called. He and the kids are going to eat already. So how about we meet them at the center park and go all together?”

Summer nodded.

“Alright. He can carry more bags.” 

When they reached the park, it took them a bit longer than a minute to find them between all those families. But when they finally did, they almost run into them.

“I thought you said it would take you an hour, not four.” Tai said, wrinkling his nose.

“Cinder wanted a haircut.”

“Speaking of which, where is she?” Tai said, looking around. It was clear that he was joking, because when he saw Cinder, he fakely gasped. “Oh my Gods. You're Cinder?”

Cinder laughed a little.

“You look so pretty!” Yang told her. “Right, Ruby?” 

Ruby nodded, smiling.

“Cin is pretty!” She said.

“And you don't look as much of an emo as I expected, hanging out with these two.” Tai commented.

“Well, thanks.” Qrow rolled his eyes. “Anyway, where are we eating?”

“Well, since it's Yang's birthday, we're letting her decide what we're eating. And she's decided she wants...”

“Noodles!” She said, really sure.

Summer shrugged.

“Well, we saw a noodle stand on the way here, so we could just go there.”

“Alright, then. Let's go. I'm starving after dealing with these two gremlins by myself.”

“We're not gremlins!” Yang frowned, offended. “We're nice kids! Right, Ruby?” 

Ruby nodded, also offended.

Tai laughed, as they started to walk towards the noodles stand, ‘A Simple Wok’. There, they all sat nicely as they had lunch, and Summer asked a passerby to take a pic of them with her scroll, in which they were all smiling except Yang and Tai, who had put the chopsticks between their mouths and noses, as moustaches.

When they had finished, the walked again to the park, and bought some ice cream for Yang, Ruby and Cinder. Qrow and Cinder got behind as the others walked faster.

“You good, kid?”

Cinder nodded.

“Why are you asking that all the time?”

“I don't know. I guess I just want you to be honest at some point.”

Cinder raised her eyes at him. He raised his eyebrow.

“I am fine. Really, I am.” Cinder promised. “You guys are really kind, and nice, and I really like the house and everything...”

“But?”

Cinder sighed. 

“I guess... a part of me doesn't believe it. Doesn't think I deserve it.” She said. “And a part of me is scared, that I'll say or do something wrong, or that you'll regret it or grow tired of me and just... get me back to... her.”

“She's in prison, Cinder. And I told you, she isn't gonna hurt you ever again. I wouldn't let her.”

“Yeah, I know.” She said, quietly.

“Hey, look at me.” Qrow said, and she raised her head again. Qrow sighed “What they did to you... I can't undo it. I know I can't, and it makes me angry that because I know it's the reason why you feel like this. But you deserve this, okay? You deserve all of it and more.”

“Adopting you... It was impulsive of me, I'll admit it.” Qrow resumed. “I'm a single man in a dangerous profession and with a semblance that... well, makes everything a bit difficult. S I'm not the best option you would have had. And a part of me is still wondering if I'm the right person to take care of you. But,” Qrow stopped all if sudden, and so did Cinder, as he crouched down to her level, leaving the bags on the ground “that doesn't mean I regret adopting you, okay? Because I don't. I'm just new at this whole parenting thing, and I'm gonna need you to help me. And you know how you can help me?”

Cinder shook her head. She realized she had tears in her eyes.

“By being honest with me, and telling me how you feel or when something is wrong, so I can help you. Okay?”

Cinder nodded, Qrow wiped the tears off her face with the back of his hand, and then petted her head before grabbing the bags and getting up.

“Now finish that before it melts.” He said, pointing at the ice cream with his head. “And give me a big smile, okay?”

Cinder widely smiled, as genuine as ever. And as she walked by his side and finished that ice cream (and heard Taiyang at the distance yelling and telling Yang not to lick something), Cinder felt the happiest she'd ever felt in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually continued this huh. And I kind of already have a plot in mind so... Well, enjoy, everyone.


	3. Chapter 3

Even though the word ‘home’ had always had negative connotations for Cinder, she couldn't find another one to define the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen house. 

Days passed, and the days turned into weeks. And as these passed, she felt more and more comfortable and less scared something would go wrong. She'd laugh at Tai's jokes, and would start joking around others too, and ‘roasting’ them, as Qrow often would say. She'd play with Yang and Ruby, and show them tricks with her semblance, or read stories with them (even though Cinder didn't read really well; she could, but really slowly) and Summer. When Summer left for a mission two weeks after she arrived, she'd just read with them. Sometimes, Qrow and her would take Yang's wooden swords (that had turned out to be too big for them) and play with them when they were too bored. What started as a game turned into something more serious, she noticed when he sometimes corrected her stance and gave her some instructions.

“What? You didn't turn off Teacher Mode?” She joked. He had started working at Signal last week, and he'd come home really tired saying he had enough with three gremlins but now he had about three hundred and three.

“I did, but you turned it on again. You're fast and have good reflexes.” Qrow said, raising his eyebrows. “With a little practice, you could actually become pretty good with this.”

Cinder scratched her head. One thing she had to work on: accepting compliments.

“You really think so?”

“I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, kid. You sure you don't wanna go to Signal?”

“In the middle of the school year?”

“Combat schools don't work like that, at least in Vale. Once you turn ten, you can join whenever you want, and you're put with other people at your same level, until you're seventeen. Age doesn't matter. So you could join right now if you wanted.”

“Well, maybe I w--” Cinder cut herself off and lifted her wooden sword to stop Qrow's, but she only deflected it. He then feinted at her, and Cinder prepared to stop it again... only for him to sweep her off her feet with his leg. Cinder ended up falling to the ground. 

“First lesson if you join: don't ever get distracted.” Qrow said, holding out his hand for her, and she rolled her eyes. She then had an idea. Cinder took his hand, and before he lifted her, she pulled, and used her feet to sweep his. She rolled to the side before he fell right on the same spot as her.

“That wasn't a very good stance, professor.” Cinder teased him, and Qrow raised his gaze to her, laughing.

“Hey, you just caught me off guard.”

“Bad luck, I guess.”

“Okay, that was a low blow.”

“So low you fell.”

Qrow laughed again, and this time, someone else joined. They looked to their side.

“Summer!” Cinder said, smiling, as both her and Qrow stood up.

“You finished the mission already?” Qrow asked her.

“Yeah, I told you guys it was an easy one.” She said. “I'm gonna have to tell Ozpin to give me more difficult ones. Anyway--”

She got interrupted by a scream that nearly gave the three of them a heart attack:

“MOM! RUBY, DAD, MOM'S HERE!”

Yang ran as fast as she could, and she almost tackled Summer when she hugged her.

“Ouch!” Summer wrinkled her nose. “Dear, you're gonna kill mom!”

“Sorry.” Yang said, and smiled when Summer kissed her temple. “How was the mission? Did you kill many Grimm?”

Summer grinned.

“I took two Goliaths on my own.”

“Cool!” 

“Ruby, look, Mommy's here!” They saw Tai walking towards them, holding Ruby in his arms. The little girl reached her hands to her mother, who smiled when she took her in her arms. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, honey, everything went well. But I'm starving, so could we go inside, please?”

“Sure. Dinner is almost ready.” He said. “So everyone inside, or it's gonna get cold.”

“Okay, then. I'll get back at you some other time.” Qrow said, messing with Cinder's hair.

“Hey, you threw me to the ground first, so technically we're even now.”

“She's right, I saw that.” Summer said, and Qrow rolled his eyes, just when Yang said: 

“Wait!” They turned around to look at her. “I think I left the Beowolf Cinder made me beside that crooked tree near the back of the house yesterday.”

“Okay, go get it then. Cinder, can you keep an eye on her meanwhile?”

“It's just the back of the house, Tai.” Qrow wrinkled his nose.

“I just don't want Yang to go into the forest. You know how she is.”

“That's not true!” Yang complained.

“It's alright.” Cinder said. “C'mon, Yang, let's go.”

She followed the blonde child. Cinder noticed that it wasn't exactly the back of the house, but little further, getting a little inside the forest. Yang looked for the figure at the tree, but since she didn't find it, Cinder started looking for it too around the bushes and trees nearby.

“You know, it's getting late.” Cinder commented, crouched down while checking a bush. “It's getting dark and dinner is gonna be cold.”

“Just a little longer, please! I don't want Larry to be alone here!”

Cinder blinked, then grinned.

“Larry?”

“It's his name!”

Cinder chuckled.

“Okay, then.” She said, getting up. “Let's find Larry the Beowolf.”

Cinder was about to crouch down to another bush, but then, she heard a squawk, and she looked up at a bird perched on a twisted tree branch. It was a raven, and Cinder was almost sure it was the same one she'd seen the other day. The bird squawked again, almost as if it was trying to warn her from something.

“What do you--” She started, but she heard something move between the bushes behind her. Something far too big to be Yang. She turned around to see the little girl standing with triumph, holding the little Beowolf in her tiny hands.

“Hey, I found him!” 

Cinder wanted to say ‘Cool! Let's go back inside!’ but she heard something in the bushes again: a growl, something preparing to jump. 

“YANG! WATCH OUT!”

Before she realized what she was doing, she was pushing Yang out of the way, almost tackling her, when the Beowolf (not Larry) tried to jump on the little girl. She fell to the ground and rolled a few meters away from Yang when the Grimm tried to jump on her again. Cinder immediately got up, and yelled, clapping, trying to make as much noise as she could.

“HEY! HERE! HERE!”

The Beowolf wasn't focusing on Yang any longer, which was the good side. The bad side was that now it was focusing on her. It was huge, bigger and with more spikes than the sculptures at the Glass Unicorn, and definitely scarier.

When it tried to claw her, she jumped to the side, but she felt a sudden sharp pain in the arm that let her know that she hadn't completely avoided its claws before she fell to the ground. The Grimm prepared to attack again, and Cinder closed her eyes, getting ready for the blow. But then she heard the noise of a blade cutting the air, and then the Beowolf growling in pain, and Cinder opened her eyes. 

The Beowolf was on the ground, dead, and standing between it and her, there was a woman with a red katana. She had black hair, and when she saw her face for a second, Cinder thought she looked kind of familiar. 

The woman merely took a glance with her red eyes to where Yang was (still stunned due Cinder's tackle) and then another to Cinder before cutting the air with her sword and opening what it seemed like a red portal. She then disappeared like she'd never been there, leaving Cinder completely speechless.

“Cinder...?” She heard Yang's voice a few meters away, and she returned to Earth.

“Yang!” Cinder stood up and rushed to the child, falling on her knees in front of her. “Yang, are you okay?”

Yang nodded. She was a little pale, but she seemed unharmed. She looked at the dead Beowolf, and then at Cinder.

“Cinder... You're hurt.”

Cinder looked at her arm, remembering then the pain, and she saw that Yang was right. At the level of her biceps, there were three claw marks, bleeding and itching. But somehow, Cinder knew it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

“It's just a scratch. Don't worry--”

“Yang? Cinder?” They heard Qrow and Summer's voices nearby. 

They then saw them walking towards them, Qrow holding his sword and Summer, her halberd.

“Oh my gods.” Summer said, when she saw the Beowolf. She dropped her weapon, and then rushed to the kids. “Are you two alright?”

Cinder nodded.

“Yeah, we're fine.”

“We heard some yelling, and we came as fast as we could.” Qrow lightly kicked the Beowolf, making sure it didn't move. “It's an Alpha. How did you kids manage to kill--?”

“We didn't.” Cinder said. “I pushed Yang out of the way and it attacked me and then... a woman killed it.”

“A woman?”

“Yeah. She had black hair and a red sword, and after killing it she just... disappeared.”

Qrow blinked, and Summer and him looked at each other, with a weird, serious expression on their faces. He sighed.

“Let's-- let's just go back inside. Before more come.”

And so they did. Summer lifted Yang, and they all followed Qrow. Before leaving, Cinder glanced at the crooked tree. The raven wasn't there anymore.

They all sat on the kitchen, while Qrow cleaned Cinder's wound and put a bandage around it.

“There. With aura, it should be healed tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” She said.

“Cinder got hurt because of me.” Yang said, sadly.

“That's not true!” Cinder said. “It wasn't your fault.”

“But-- if we hadn't been looking for--”

“Look, it's okay. I'm fine. See?” Cinder told her. “Where is Larry, by the way?”

Yang opened her hands, revealing the Beowolf figure.

“It lost its arm.”

“Oh. It's okay, I can fix it after we finish dinner.”

“No-- He looks good like this.” Yang said. “He doesn't need to be fixed.”

“Well, okay then.”

“Are you sure you're okay?” Tai asked her, Cinder nodded.

“Yeah, really, it was nothing.” She promised. “Could we just have dinner? I'm starving.”

“Sure.”

—————

Once finished, Cinder was really tired to really do anything else, so she just put on her pyjamas and told everyone goodnight. Qrow went with her, and tucked her in.

“You sure you're okay?” He asked her, sitting on the bed beside her. Cinder nodded.

“Yeah, I swear. I just got scared, and the wound hurts a little, but I'm fine. Don't worry.” She promised.

“Of course I worry. You and Yang could have--”

“But we didn't. So you don't have to worry. That weird woman saved us.” She said. Qrow grimaced for a second, and Cinder frowned. “You know her?”

“Huh?”

“That woman. You and Summer were weird when I told you, and then now again. You know her?”

Qrow pursed his lips. 

“You don't miss anything, do you?”

She shrugged, and he sighed. He scratched his head.

“You... remember what we told you about team STRQ, don't you?” 

“That you were coolest team to ever graduate Beacon?”

“Yep. That too. But I'm talking about what happened to the R.”

“You told me that she wasn't around anymore...” Cinder's eyes narrowed. “Wait-- that was her? Was that your sister?”

Qrow sighed, but nodded.

“Her semblance is literally bonding with people and opening portals that leads her to them, so sometimes, she just... comes, checks on us without saying anything and then leaves again.” He explained. “I guess today she was feeling helpful and decided to save you before that thing killed you.”

“Why doesn't she ever say anything?”

“It's complicated, but we aren't... on the best terms.” Qrow told her. “Raven left us around five years ago, and the only times I've seen her eversince, she wasn't exactly nice to me. To be honest, I wasn't exactly nice, either.”

“But if she comes to check on you guys, that means she cares about you, doesn't it? Maybe she wants to rekindle, or something.”

“Maybe.” Qrow said, though he didn't sound very hopeful. “But I don't think she comes to check on all of us, though. Only Yang.”

“Why would she check on Yang? If she left five years ago, that means she didn't even meet her or she was just a baby.”

“She did meet her.” Qrow said, tiredly. “She... gave birth to her, after all.”

Cinder blinked, confused for a second, before she completely understood what he had just said. Now it made sense why she had thought Raven looked familiar: Qrow and her did look kind of alike, but Yang also looked a lot like her.

“You mean-- your sister-- Yang is her--?”

“When we were at Beacon, Summer, Tai and her were all in a relationship. I'd honestly never seen Raven that happy, but not long after we graduated, she got pregnant. And just a few weeks after Yang's birth... She just left.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. She just did. As if she'd never cared about any of us.” Qrow shrugged, sadly. “It was tough, for me and for Tai and Summer. But luckily, they ended up healing and... well, now we have Ruby. And both of them and Yang couldn't be happier about it.”

“And your sister-- she just comes and watches?”

“Honestly, I think that in a way, Raven still cares. That a part of her regrets leaving her team and her daughter but doesn't have the courage to actually try to apologize and make ammends.” Qrow sighed. “My sister has always been a great fighter with a lot of determination to achieve her goals. But brave? She's never been brave. She's awfully prideful, though.”

“I-- I see.” Cinder said. “And... Does Yang know about this? That Summer isn't--”

Qrow shook his head.

“No, she doesn't know. We'll tell her, one day, when she can understand, but right now... She believes Summer is her mom. And she's not wrong, because Summer is the one who's raising her and the one who truly cares about her. As far as I'm concerned, she's Yang's mother, no matter who gave birth to her.”

Cinder nodded.

“I understand.”

“I know you do, kid.” Qrow flashed her a small smile. He pointed at the bandage. “Does it hurt much?”

“A little, but nothing too bad. I've had worse.” Cinder said. She remembered the necklace the Madame had put her, now gone from her neck, but the scars still itched sometimes.

Qrow grunted. 

“I did my best, but it will probably leave a scar even with aura. Sorry, kid.”

“Don't be. I can brag about how I fought an Alpha Beowolf now.” 

“Brag to who? The birds?”

“At Signal.” Cinder replied.

“So you've decided already.”

“Yeah, why not?” Cinder shrugged. “I wanna be able to defend myself if I ever see one of those things again. And this house is full of people who are either Huntsmen or wanna be, so I'm not gonna be the weird one here.”

Qrow raised his eyebrows.

“A Huntress, huh?”

“Yeah.”

He grinned.

“Well, then you got around seven years to train before the entrance exam.” Qrow got up from the bed. “You sleep now, kid. I'll talk to Signal's headmaster tomorrow.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Qrow.”

“Goodnight, Cinder.”

—————

It had been three days since the Beowolf attack, and her wound was completely healed by now. Qrow and Tai were both working, and Ruby and Yang were taking a nap, because they both had caught a cold. So Cinder, bored as she was, decided to help Summer, who was having a few free days before her next mission. The woman was reticent at the beginning, not wanting to make Cinder do ‘adult stuff’, but since she was only baking cookies for the kids, she decided to teach her how to make them.

“Now, you know the secret ingredient to make the perfect cookie.” Summer said.

“Love?” Cinder wondered.

“Nah. Vainilla.” She said, taking the cookies out the oven. “You can't eat love, honey.”

Cinder chuckled.

“Can I try one?”

“Wait a while. They're still hot as f-- they're still really hot.”

Cinder grinned, as she got off from the table she was sitting. She then noticed something.

“Hey, the oven is still on.”

“Aw, crap. Can you turn it off, please?” Summer said, as she put the cookies in a plate.

“Sure.” Cinder said, crouching down. Then, when she touched the oven, she saw yellow sparkles, and got back so fast she fell on the floor, screaming. 

“Cinder!” Summer forgot about the plate. “What is it?! What happened?”

“S-sparkles.”

Summer looked at the oven, and sighed.

“Don't tell me it broke again. Seriously, the kitchen really hates me.” She tried to joke, but she then saw Cinder, panting, looking at the oven like she was terrified. “Hey, sweetie, what's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?”

Cinder struggled to do so, but she shook her head. 

“Then what--?” Summer interrupted herself, remembering the sparkling. She also remember the scar Cinder hid under the choker. Her expression totally changed, as she saw the girl in front of her having a full on panick attack. She dropped on her knees beside Cinder. “Honey, honey, look at me, okay? Breathe.”

“I-- I can't--”

“Breathe.” Summer repeated, breathing too, and showing her how to do so. After a couple of minutes, Cinder was a bit more calm. Summer helped her stand up and sit on a chair. She brought a glass of water and gave it to her. “Do you feel better?”

“A-- a bit.” Cinder said. 

“C'mon, take a cookie now.” Summer said, but Cinder shook her head. “You sure?”

Cinder nodded.

“Okay, I'll give this to the girls and I'll be back in a second, alright? Don't move.” She told her. She was going to pat her back, but Cinder flinched and Summer stopped. Cinder then wondered why she'd flinched, as Summer went upstairs. She knew Summer for only a month or so, but she was sure neither her or Tai would ever hurt her. Just like Qrow, they cared about her, and it was strange and hard to believe but it was true. Summer was just trying to help. 

When the woman came back five minutes later, Cinder had completely calmed down, but she still felt miserable. 

“I'm sorry.” Cinder told her. Summer looked at her, confused.

“Why?”

“For flinching. I know you didn't want to hit me. And the whole oven thing. I just... I got...”

“Honey, you don't have to apologize about anything, okay?” Summer assured her, sitting right beside her. “You didn't do anything wrong.”

“I know, but--”

“No buts. You haven't done anything wrong.” Summer repeated herself. “What happened with the oven and the sparks is normal... after what was done to you. And you flinching is normal, too.”

“It's silly. It's just an oven. I just--”

“It's not silly.” Summer. “Look, when I was around your age, I lived with my aunt. She just divorced her husband after years of him abusing her. She did okay a while after the divorce, but whenever she'd hear someone slam a door, or a glass breaking, she'd get nervous because she'd remember the times he came back home mad. And she thought it was silly at first, but it's not. It's just a trigger. So was the oven thing. And it's normal after everything you've gone through, okay? So don't ever apologize for having triggers. It's not your fault.”

Cinder got her head down.

“How did she deal with them?”

“You mean how she coped? Well... She meditated often. She took long walks. She listened to music. Or she just went to our garden and practiced archery.”

“Archery?”

“Yeah. She was a retired Huntress, and her weapon of choice was a bow. She was amazing, and we would both spends hours and hours practicing when I was a little older than you.” Summer smiled nostalgic. “Actually, my bow was hers. I inherited it from her.”

“What happened to her?”

“She got very sick and passed away a couple of years ago.” Summer explained.

“I'm sorry.” Cinder said.

“Don't worry.” Summer smiled at her.

There were a few seconds of silence, until Cinder spoke.

“Can I try?”

“Huh?”

“Archery.” She cleared up. “Can I try?”

“You wanna try archery?” Summer raised her eyebrows, surprised.

“Is it a problem or...?”

“No, not at all!” Summer smiled. “I'll get the target. Wait outside.”

“Okay.”

It toor Summer a few minutes to come back with a shooting target and her bow and arrows. She hang the target on a tree.

“All right, you can try now.” Summer said.

Cinder took the bow and put an arrow in place. She squinted, and shot. The arrow hit right above the target.

“Not that bad, considering you're holding it wrong. Put your hand little higher and more relaxed... There, perfect. And don't grip the arrow, just pull the string. Try to pull with your back, not the biceps.” Cinder did as she said. “Now take a breath... And release it.”

And so Cinder did. The arrow wasn't really close to the center, but this it hit it.

“Well done!” Summer grinned, and Cinder smiled a little. “You actually have pretty good aim for a beginner.”

“Thanks.”

“I'm just speaking the truth.” She said. “Can I try?”

Cinder gave her the bow, and then she asked:

“Were your parents Huntsmen too?”

Summer didn't seem taken aback by her question, as she retrieved the arrows from the target. 

“My father wasn't. He's a cook in a restaurant in Argus, though. But I don't really care about him. The moment my mom told him she was pregnant, he broke up with her and ignored me my whole childhood. I met him a few years ago, and that's when I decided that he definitely wasn't my Dad. No dad can be such a dick.” She took her position in front of the target. 

“I'm so sorry.”

“It's okay.” She said, though a bit of resentment could be heard in her voice. “My mom was too good for a guy like him, anyway. And so am I.” Summer put the arrow on the bow. “She was a Huntress, just like my grandmother, and my great-grandfather, though it wasn't really official job back then. My whole family... They were all warriors. And my mom was amazing. But when I was around Ruby's age, she left for a mission and never came back. Everyone assumed she died a few months later. So I had to go and live with my aunt.”

“I'm sorry...”

“I told you, you don't have to be.” Summer said, as she shot the arrow, and it hit really close to the center. 

She hummed, unsatisfied by her shot, as she took another arrow. 

“I was really young, so I don't remember much of her, sadly.” Summer said, as she pulled the string. “But my aunt always said that I have her courage.” 

The arrow hit right in the center of the bullseye.

“And that I've got her eyes.”

——————

A week later, when summer was clearly starting to fade and leaves fell off the branches, Cinder was dressed in a blue uniform. Blue wasn't really her color, but whatever. She got down from the car with Tai and Qrow, and entered the academy. It actually looked like a regular school or high school, being just two solid three floors-red buildings, one for dorms for intern kids and another for classes. It also had a campus where some kids older played ball before classes began, and from there, she could see some fences separating the training grounds. ‘Swordmanship’, ‘Hand to hand combat’ and ‘Archery’ were some of the ones she saw.

“What if it rains?” She asked.

“The theory classrooms are big enough to also have the kids fighting inside. Or we just give you more Math, Biology, Language, History or Weapon Design reinforcement classes.” Tai said.

“Weapon Design?” 

“Yeah, students here build their own weapons.” Qrow said. “But you don't have to build yours right now. First you gotta train and see what kind of weapon suits you more. They just give you basic engineering classes so you know how to make it.”

“Oh-- Okay.” Cinder kept herself quiet. “And what do I need Math for?”

“It's not necessary to be a Huntress.” Tai said. “Neither is Language or History. But it's mandatory so kids are not illiterate or something.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Anyway, except for those four, Hand to Hand combat, and Semblance and Aura training, you get to choose all the other classes, and can change them whenever you want. But--” Qrow stopped her, in front of a fence with a sign that said «HAND TO HAND. LEVEL I-IV». “Now you got this.”

Cinder blinked. She looked at Tai, and before she could ask, he shook his head.

“I teach kids from Level V onward. So I won't teach you until you reach that level.”

“How many levels are there?”

“Ten in every combat class. Most kids reach at least Level IIX in every area they choose before they turn seventeen. Once you reach Level IV in at least three combat classes, you can start competing in tournaments with other schools from Vale or the other kingdoms.”

“That's cool.” Cinder said.

“Well, we leave you here. If you have any problem, just come to us, okay?”

Cinder nodded. She saw them leave, and she breathed deeply, before entering through the fence.

The training ground was filled with around twenty or thirty kids, some of them her age and some of them a little older, waiting for the class to begin. Most of them were talking to each other in big groups, and Cinder soon felt out of place.

It wasn't long before a woman entered the grounds. Her hair was teal green and so were her eyes, and she appeared to be really young.

“Well, hello, kids!”

“Good morning Ms. Teal!” All the kids replied, in unison.

“Um--” Cinder said, shyly. “I, uh-- I'm new.”

“Oh, of course.” Teal looked through her list. “Cinder... Branwen, is that right?” Cinder nodded, still not really used to her new last name, and Teal kindly smiled at her. “Yeah, I was told you'd be coming. Welcome to Signal.”

“Thanks.”

“Don't worry about being new, I'm also new around here. If you have any problem or if something is too hard for you, just tell me and I'll help, okay?” Cinder nodded. “Alright, I'll find you someone to practice with. Let's see, Level I... Read? Can you pair up with Branwen today?”

“Sure.” One of the youngest girls said, and walked towards them. She was around Cinder's age, a little shorter and her complexion darker; she also had long brown hair with bangs tied in a ponytail, brown eyes and a beauty mark close to her left one. She flashed Cinder a kind smile, which kind of reassured Cinder, who was really nervous being around so many other kids.

“Alright, today I want you guys to throw each other to the ground. Use punches, kicks, elbows, whatever you need. I'll correct you kids as I go.”

“Um-- Do you want me to go easy on you?” The other girl asked.

Cinder shook her head.

“No, otherwise I won't learn. I can take a few hits.”

The other girl shrugged. She gave her an apologetic smile.

“Okay.”

Before Cinder even realized, she was already on the ground.

——————

Cinder sat on the grass of the campus, exhausted. She could feel her aura healing the few bruises she had gained.

Training had been hard. That girl threw her on the ground over and over again during the three hours it had lasted. Cinder got her a couple of times too, copying her moves, but still, she was clearly the winner. 

She saw a bunch of girls a couple of years older looking at her from afar. She recognized them from the hand to hand combat, they were level I too. Cinder felt suddenly somewhat anxious, as she still felt their gaze on her. One of them giggled and it sounded so much like Ivy, one of her former ‘sisters’ that for a second she panicked when she saw them walking towards her.

“Hey.” Cinder heard a voice, and she turned around. The girl she had sparred with, Read, was there. “Can I sit?” She asked.

Cinder didn't know too well what to do, but she nodded. The girl let herself lay on the grass beside her. The other group of girls had suddenly stopped walking, seeing Read there; the dark skinned girl raised her eyebrows at them, as if wondering what they were looking at. They turned around and left, almost scared.

“Well, they're gone.” She said, and Cinder looked at her, confused. “Those four love to bully students a bit younger than them. But they just don't mess with me because one of them got paired with me yesterday and I almost sent her to the hospital.” She explained. “By the way, did I hit you too hard? I'm sorry if so.” The girl asked her. Cinder shook her head.

“No, I'm fine. You got me really good, though. I was pretty pathetic.”

“Hey, don't be harsh. Have you ever gotten training before?” 

“Uh, no?”

“Well, then you weren't pathetic, you're just new. I got a little bit of hand to hand training from my grandma before I came here.”

“Then why are you only on Level I?” Cinder asked. “You should be III at least.”

“You can't do a level pass exam unless you've been at least two months in one level. And I've only been here for a week, so...” The girl shrugged.

“So you're new too?”

“Yep”. She replied, and then she offered her hand to shake hers. “My name's Amber.”

“Cinder.” She said, shaking her hand.

“Yeah. Professor Branwen's daughter, right?”

Cinder blinked.

“I mean-- yeah. He adopted me not long ago, though.”

“Oh, you're adopted? Me too!” Amber said, pointing at herself. “My grandma took me in when I was a few months old. She was a teacher in Beacon until she retired a couple of months ago. That's why I know how to fight better.” She explained. “Where are you from?”

“Mistral.” She said. Cinder didn't know why, but it was easy to talk to that girl. “I lived in Atlas for a year until recently, though, with my-- former adoptive mother. Things didn't turn out alright.”

“What happened?”

“She wasn't-- nice to me. And neither were her daughters.” 

That was all she allowed herself to say. She still had nightmares during the nights, nightmares in which she was brought back to them, and was forced to wear that necklace again, and the Madame shocked her until she woke up crying... Cinder breathed heavily.

“I'm sorry to hear that.” Amber said, with a sad expression. “Are you better now?”

“Yeah, Qrow is great, and so is Taiyang and Summer and their kids.”

Amber wrinkled her nose. 

“You mean professor Xiao Long?”

“Yeah, Qrow and I live with him and his family. You could say he's my... uncle, I guess?”

“You have two family members as your teachers. I don't know if that's cool or terrifying--” Amber got interrupted when the bell rang. She stood up. “Well, break's over, I guess. I have Aura training right now. What do you got?”

“Same as you.” Cinder got up too, checking her schedule. “And after lunch... Math.”

Amber grunted.

“Yeah, me too. How is Math gonna be useful for fighting, though?”

“I mean, if I were a Ursa and a Huntsman asked me to calculate how many watermelons a guy bought, I'd let him kill me.” Cinder said, and Amber laughed.

“Teach equations to the Grimm.”

“Yeah, bore them to death.”

They both laughed as they walked towards the training grounds.

“Hey, what's that?” Amber asked, pointing at her healed claw wound. Cinder grinned.

“Oh, this? It was an Beowolf...”

———————

More time passed, and Cinder adapted well to Signal. She had experimented with different combat classes, but she had ended up focusing on two: swordmanship and archery. The swordmanship teacher was surprised with how good reflexes Cinder had, being really fast and moving before the other kids were able to even move theirs. She supposed that it was normal, because she trained with Qrow on the weekends. Thus, she ended up acing her Level I exam and passed to Level II at the first try. 

Cinder wasn't bad at archery, either. She had been practicing by her own or with Summer, whenever she was bored or feeling anxious; alone or with her and Qrow, bow or sword, training made her feel more relaxed, for some reason. And Cinder had also been training with her semblance, and getting better with her aura. 

But undoubtedly, the best part about going to Signal was Amber.

Cinder loved being around Yang and Ruby, and she was growing more fond of them the more time she spent with them, but it was refreshing to also be around a girl her age. Amber was nice, and kind, and considerate, but also really funny and really sarcastic, just like her. They'd both spend the whole time roasting each other in a good way, and Amber also had her back if any mean kid at Signal tried to mess with her, which Cinder thanked a lot. She'd come to her house some days and eat there, and they would talk or play with the kids or train together. Cinder would also visit Amber's house a couple of times: her grandmother, a tall and intimidating woman with gray hair called Persephone, was clearly a seasoned fighter judging by her scars, but she also made delicious cheesecake and liked pinching Amber's cheeks, embarrassing her.

Life at the house was also good and peaceful, too. Ruby turned three at the end of October, and soon after that she moved to her room with Yang. Cinder would play with Ruby and Yang and tease them. Qrow and Tai would sometimes help her practice hand to hand combat and swordmanship, as mentioned earlier, and on her birthday, Summer gifted her a wooden bow and a diana for her to practice archery on her own when she wasn't there. She'd also sometimes help her bake cookies, when she wasn't on missions. The oven didn't break again.

And so, life went on happily, and months passed, and they entered a new year. It was around January when she said the word for the first time, without even realizing, a word. 

It was a Sunday morning. Cinder was finishing her Math homework at the kitchen table with Tai's help while Summer had a coffee, and Qrow, while drinking his own, put a glass of milk in front of her. 

“Thanks, dad.” She said, distracted, before she drank from it. 

Qrow spat the milk from his mouth, and Tai stopped cooking and turned around. Summer was also looking at her. Cinder swallowed the milk, wrinkling her nose.

“What?” She asked.

Qrow and the other two blinked.

“Nothing. It-- it was nothing.” Qrow said. Cinder shrugged, and continued to do her homework. Without even realizing, she'd started calling Tai and Summer uncle and aunt too a couple of days later. A few weeks went on until she realized, but at that point, she didn't really care. That's what they were. Her Uncle, her Aunt and her Dad.

It was around March when one Saturday, Ruby and Yang were playing inside, Cinder decided to read under the shade of Yang's favorite tree, as she called it. Cinder had gotten a lot better at reading. Before arriving at that house, the only things she usually read were signs from shops, or the words ‘Glass Unicorn’ in napkins. So Qrow had spent many evenings with her practicing until she got better. For her birthday, among other things he'd gifted her with, he had given her the book she was reading, ‘The Man with Two Souls.” He said that it had been a gift to him by Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon, who was an old friend of his. For some reason he found the fact that Ozpin had given him the book hilarious, as if they had an inside joke between them. But since he hadn't really liked the book, and he'd seen Cinder looking at it, so he gave it to her.

It was weird, but it was entertaining.

Cinder heard the door open and close, and she saw Summer getting out of the house. She was carrying her bow and halberd, with her travel backpack.

“You're leaving?” Cinder asked her, getting up from the grass. Summer looked at her.

“Yeah, honey. I got a mission.”

“Now?” Cinder asked, a little confused. “I thought you said you didn't have any this month.”

“Something has come up. Tai and Qrow know, and I just said goodbye to them and the girls. I have to go.”

Something was off. Cinder didn't know if it was the tone of her voice, or the look of her eyes that let her know that, but she just knew it. Summer crouched down to her.

“Take care of your dad, your uncle and cousins while I'm gone, okay? And let them take care of you as well. You all take care of each other when I'm not here, alright?” She told her.

“Of course. I mean, you'll be here in like, two weeks at most, right?”

Summer smiled, but there wasn't any happiness in it. She nodded, and she messed with Cinder's hair, a gesture she'd never done before.

“Yeah, I will.” She said, and then she hugged her. “And keep training. And don't let your dad drink too much. Okay, kid?”

“Okay, Aunt Summer.”

She flashed her another smile, before moving forward. Cinder kept looking at her until she disappeared.

It would be fine, Cinder told herself. It would only be two weeks. She'd be back in two weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It got kinda sad as I wrote it sorry


	4. Chapter 4

But she wasn't.

Two weeks passed, and Summer still wasn't back. And then three, and the weeks turned into a month, and the month into two and then three and four, until they'd entered July.

It was hard. Tai paced around the house like crazy at first, then he started to become more and more apathetic, to the point of not wanting to get out of the bed some days. The kids didn't understand. All Ruby did all the time was wondering where her mother was, and Yang constantly asked why hadn't she come back yet. Qrow tried to hold it all together, and Cinder wanted to help him, but he wouldn't accept the help, saying she was a kid and didn't have yo worry about this. But it was time to accept it.

Summer was gone. And she wasn't coming back.

The funeral was in August, over a year after she'd arrived to that house. It was awful. Tai was as quiet as he could be, and Yang was just crying and Ruby... Ruby didn't even understand. She asked what was all of this. She was pissed, Cinder could tell.

They weren't alone at the funeral. Amber and her grandmother, Persephone, had come too. Persephone had taught Summer and the rest of team STRQ back when they were students at Beacon Academy. Judging the way she talked to Tai, she really appreciated Summer. There were also other two people; a grey haired man and a blonde woman, both of them tall and with glasses. The man leaned on his cane as both him and the woman looked sadly at the grave, and at the family.

“That's Ozpin.” Amber said to her, noticing Cinder staring at them.

“Ozpin? As in the Headmaster of Beacon?”

“Yeah, and the woman beside him is Glynda Goodwitch. She's the Deputy Headmistress, since Grandma retired.” The shorter girl explained. 

Cinder nodded, without saying anything else. She noticed she was crying, and she wiped a tear, as Amber put her hand on her shoulder.

“I'm sorry.” Amber told her, as Cinder wiped another tear. “It's okay if you cry, you know? Yang is crying.”

“She's a kid.”

Amber half grunted, half sighed.

“So are we.”

Cinder wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by a voice.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Cinder and Amber turned around. So did Tai, Who was talking to Persephone, the teachers and the two little girls. 

Qrow was talking to a man about fifty or sixty years old. His hair, graying by age, had still some traces of red, and he was holding a bouquet of white roses. He looked kind of intimidated by Qrow, who was furiously gazing at him. Up until now, Cinder had only seen him look at the Madame like that.

“Answer me, bastard. Why are you here?”

“I... I heard about what happened and I...”

“You, what?” Qrow practically yelled at him. His eyes were red, and Cinder wondered if he'd been drinking the night before. “You bastard. You have the guts to come to the funeral?”

“Qrow...” Ozpin said, seeing how mad he was. But before he could say anything, Qrow punched the guy in the nose. They could hear the crack.

“Dad!” Cinder called, when she saw that Qrow was going to punch him again. Qrow turned around, looking directly at her. His eyes softened a bit, before looking at the man again.

“Get the fuck out of here.” He told him. “You didn't give a shit about her when she was alive, and if she was here she would push you off the cliff for even daring to come. So go back to your family in Argus before I make her wish a reality.” Qrow grunted.

The man looked down. He then looked at Tai, whose expression equaled Qrow's, and Yang and Ruby, whose faces he observed for a bit longer. He threw the roses in the stone, before turning around.

“Who was that?” Amber asked, as they watched him leave. Cinder recalled a conversation with Summer, and looked at the flowers, sadly.

“A dick.” She said, as a raven squawked from a tree nearby. Cinder looked at it. It looked familiar.

—————

The night following the funeral, she passed by Yang and Ruby's room, and saw the door opened. She was going to tell them to go to sleep, but then she saw Ruby and Yang in the same bed. Ruby's head was laying on Yang's shoulder, and she looked like she'd been crying. Yang looked like she'd been crying as well, but she was now reading to Ruby one of the same stories Summer had read to them, with the most cheerful tone she could.

Cinder decided not to bother them, and just closed the door and went downstairs. She found Taiyang sitting on the couch. He was looking at a photo album, and she saw it was mainly Summer's pictures he was seeing. She decided not to bother him either, and just found Qrow sitting at the kitchen table. She saw him holding a glass with ice and what it seemed to be straight vodka.

“I thought you only drank on weekends.” She told him.

“I know. It's just... After this day... I needed it. At least one.” Qrow said. His eyes were red, and Cinder couldn't tell if it was because of the alcohol or because he'd been crying too. Judging by his face, she leaned to the second option.

“Yeah, I get it. I wouldn't complain if you gave me a glass too.”

Qrow smiled sadly.

“Don't push it, kid.” He said. “I can get you some hot chocolate, though.”

“That'll do.”

Qrow heated the chocolate, and gave Cinder the mug, as he sat at the table in front of her again.

“Thanks, Dad.” She said, and he lightly smiled again.

“Where are Yang and Ruby?”

“In their room. Yang's reading to Ruby. And Uncle Tai...”

“Yeah, I've seen him.” He sighed. “This... this is gonna be tough.”

“Yeah.” Cinder said, sadly. “I miss her.”

“Me too, kid. Me too.”

“I can't believe that bastard came to the funeral.”

Qrow looked at her, not knowing if he was surprised by her saying bastard or the despise on her voice.

“You know who that was?”

“Aunt Summer told me a bit about her and her father.” She explained. “You don't have to be very smart to make the connection.”

“Yeah...” Qrow said. “I'm sorry for the show back there.”

“Don't be.” Cinder said. “He deserved it.”

After she finished her hot chocolate, she prepared to go to sleep. Before that, Qrow gave her a tight hug, as if he was afraid she would disappear too.

—————

Things didn't get much better when Yang found out about Raven.

It was a neighbour, someone from one of the houses nearby who still remembered Raven. Of course he thought the kid already knew, and was just giving his condolences, but, while doing so, he asked Qrow, right in front of her, pointing at her with his head:

“And did her mom come to the funeral?”

So yeah, that lead to really bad misunderstanding, and it became much worse when Taiyang had to explain the truth to both Ruby and Yang. Ruby didn't really understand (“What do you mean Mom wasn't Yang's Mom?”). Yang did understand what it meant, and if she'd been sad before, now she was also angry.

For weeks, she became quiet. She barely talked to anyone, except for Ruby, but not even as much as she did before. Yang didn't even try to celebrate her sister's fourth birthday when it came. She didn't play, she just wandered around the house, silently, and rummaged through things she wouldn't have before. And she was still noticeably angry at her father. But Tai was too... apathetic to even notice. Or maybe he did, but he just didn't care. He'd been taking a break from school and honestly, just as Qrow had told her, it didn't help. On the other part, Qrow did everything. Literally, everything. He cooked the best he could for the five of them, he washed the clothes (given is semblance, Cinder's uniform ended up being five times smaller than it was before the wash), he cleaned everything and he took care of the girls.

And he wouldn't even let Cinder help.

“You're a kid.”

“I'm almost twelve.” She complained.

“Still a kid. No kid should have these responsibilities.”

“I just want to help you!” Cinder said, as he mopped the floor. “See, you're doing it wrong. You're not cleaning right now, you're just spreading the flith because you didn't sweep the floor first! And you're holding it wrong. Let me-”

“This is precisely the kind of thing a twelve year old kid shouldn't know how to do.” Qrow said, and Cinder grunted, giving up. So she ended up going outside to train. She always did.

When it came to training, Cinder was doing great, truth be said. It was the only thing that kept her distracted from grieving, because she hated grieving. So she trained, and she trained, and she trained more. Since Summer had left, she had leveled up to Level IV of swordmanship, level II of Archery and Level III for both Aura and Hand to Hand Combat. She would get to start designing her own weapon soon. If she kept getting better like this, she'd be participating in the Vale Regional Tournament (not the upcoming, because it was already too late, but the next one). That's what teachers told her, even though they were clearly concerned.

Similar to Yang, Cinder was starting to be on a bad mood all the time. The staff came to accept that; they knew she had a difficult life before being adopted by Qrow, and they knew she was going through a difficult time right now as well. But it had reached the point where some kids didn't want to spar with her because they were scared she would hit them too hard; Cinder's physical strength was above average for a twelve year old girl, most of all when she seemed to be pissed the whole time.

And of course, it got to the point when Cinder actually hurt one of them.

It hadn't been an accident. Well, it was, but not exactly. The girl she'd been sparring with, Beth, was a known bully in Signal. Most of all, to Cinder. 

Cinder usually kept her cool and ignored her when she said something to her. That or Amber usually responded for her first, which she thanked. But a couple of days after Cinder turned twelve, they were at Hand to Hand Combat, and they had paired them up. Cinder wasn't wearing her choker today; she had forgotten it at home, and she was hating the looked her neck was getting. Of course, Beth noticed, but she didn't say anything at first. Until she did.

“So the rumors were true. They really put a shock collar on you?”

Cinder dodged. 

“None of your business.” She said, angrily.

“How rude. Perhaps they took the collar off too soon.” Beth said. 

Cinder dodged again, breathing heavily. Relax. Relax. Keep it cool. She noticed Ms. Teal looking at them, and walking to their direction. Considering how loud Beth was talking, she had most likely heard them.

Cinder breathed again, as she dodged.

“You're not gonna talk?” Beth said. “Do I need a remote to make you or...?”

Cinder lost it, grunting, and she kicked her in the leg, really hard. So hard she could hear the crack when Beth screamed in pain. Cinder realized what the crack had been, as she paled.

“You didn't have your Aura activated?!” She said, half horrified, half incredulous.

“What happened?!” Ms. Teal came closer.

“My leg! She broke my leg!” Beth said. “She's an animal! No wonder they put a collar on her!”

Cinder clenched her jaw, as she took a step closer, ready to kick her again, but Ms. Teal got in the middle.

“Shut your mouth.” She told Beth, with a sour tone. She looked at the rest of students, who were looking from a prudent distance. “I'll take her to the infirmary. Branwen, to the principal.”

“What?” Amber said. “Beth was making fun of her the whole time! You just heard it! You can't...”

“Yes, I can. She goes to the principal, explain what happened, and I'll explain later too.” Teal said. She looked at Beth, with no sympathy. “No worries. I'm making sure this one gets a lecture. But Branwen can't just break a leg every time someone insults her.”

“It wasn't on purpose...” Cinder said.

“I know. But you have to go. I'll call your father, too.”

“This is stupid!” Amber complained. “She didn't...!”

“Shut up!” Cinder told her, grunting, as she left the training grounds, and walked to the building. She went up the stairs until the second floor, and she sat outside the office, waiting to be called.

Qrow arrived about ten minutes later. 

“You know, kid, when I tell you to ‘break a leg’ every morning before you go to class, I don't mean it literally.” He told her. 

“Are you mad?”

Qrow sighed.

“No, I'm not. I just wanna know why you did it.”

“I--” She started to say, but the door to the office opened.

“Branwen.” He called. “Come in.”

Cinder sighed, and Qrow smiled gently at her, trying to reassure her. They went inside the office and sat in front of the desk.

“Now.” He looked at the girl. “Can you tell me what happened, exactly?”

“Beth was insulting me. The whole class could hear.”

“Yes, that much I know, and I'll make sure I hear everyone out after this. But I do know that girl loves to provoke people. At some point someone was going to snap.” The principal sighed. “What I'm asking is what exactly caused you to snap like that.”

Cinder looked down.

“She was making fun of my scars.” She said. She noticed Qrow shifting on his chair by her side.

The principal looked at her neck. His expression softened.

“What did she say, exactly?”

“She said that it was weird that I was so rude, and that maybe they took my collar off too soon. And since I wasn't answering, she said that maybe she needed the remote to make me... So I stopped dodging her hits and I kicked her in the leg to make her could shut up already.” Cinder said. “I didn't realize she didn't have her Aura activated. I didn't want to break her leg. I promise.”

Both the principal and Qrow looked at each other. The principal sighed.

“I believe you. Honestly, it's her own fault for training without Aura. It's not the first time we have broken bones because someone forgot to activate it.” He said. “I'll make sure I talk to her later, and she will not go unpunished for saying those things to you.”

“What about me?”

The principal looked at her with sympathy.

“I know you've gone through hard times in your life, and you're going through a hard time right now, too.” He gazed at Qrow for a second. “You're a brilliant student and you've never done anything bad before. So, at least this time, you go clean.” He said. “But if you lose your cool again like this, I will have to punish you. You are a good student and I only hear your teachers say good things about you, but you need to learn to control your anger. Understood?”

Cinder nodded.

“Well, that would be all, miss.” He said. He looked at Qrow. “Have a good day, Qrow.”

Cinder and Qrow went outside. They saw Amber waiting by the door. Cinder hadn't realized it was break already.

“Well, I gotta go get ready for my next class. We will talk tonight, alright?” Qrow said, and Cinder nodded.. “Catch ya later, kids.”

“See you, Dad.” She said.

“So?” Amber asked, when he left. “What happened?”

“No punishment for me.”

“I knew it!” Amber said. “It was Beth's fault for provoking you and not activating her Aura. What moron doesn't activate in training?”

“Her, I suppose.” Cinder said. “I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier.”

“That's fine, you were mad.”

“I still shouldn't have yelled.”

“Yeah, but Grandma always says people usually do or say dumb stuff when they're angry or sad. I know you didn't mean to be-- well, mean. And you're apologizing. So it's okay.”

Cinder smiled at her.

“You're officially friends with the crazy girl who broke a leg.”

“No one thinks you're crazy. Beth bullies many people, and they heard what she was saying to you. Actually, I'm sure half of the class is ready to make an altar of you for making her shut up like that.” Amber said. 

“Well, that's... nice, I guess?” Cinder said, and Amber laughed. 

“You wanna come over to my house after school's over? Grandma made cheesecake.”

Cinder beamed.

A few hours later, she was hanging out at Amber's. They were just sitting on their couch, while her grandmother brought them some hot chocolate.

“So you broke a leg today? Well, that girl must have really pissed you off.” The woman said.

“Yeah... I got away with it, though. But the principal told me that I have to learn to control my anger.”

“Well, yes, you can't let emotions control you. But if you lost it like that, it means that you've been bottling them up all the time, and at some point, you explode.” The woman said.

“I'm not bottling anything up.” Cinder said 

“Aren't you?” Persephone raised her eyebrows. “How's your family, dear?” She asked. Cinder shrugged.

“We're-- trying. But things are complicated.” She replied, grabbing her mug. 

“Complicated?”

“Gran-gran.” Amber warned her.

“No, it's okay” Cinder said. “It's just... Uncle Tai is sad, Yang is sad too, and angry at everything, Ruby doesn't get what's happening, and Dad... I mean, he tries, but he can't do it all, and he doesn't even let me help. So it's just... Complicated.”

“So that's it then. You're angry and frustrated at the situation, and you don't really know how to deal with your feelings because, well, you're a kid after all, and you don't know how to deal with loss. Most of all after everything you've gone through.”

She took a a sip.

“Tragedies usually can do terrible things to families. My father was a soldier at the Great War. I still remember how things were like when he didn't return from it.” Persephone said, with a sad look on her eyes. “What happened to Summer... It was a tragedy. She was so kind, so good, so talented... She was no genius in my class, but she was undoubtedly the best student I ever had.” She sighed. “And a tragedy like this... It never really stops hurting. I still miss my father, after all these years.”

Persephone left her own mug on the table.

“Your family will be okay. You just need time to cry, and heal. It will always hurt, because as I've told you, grief is something that never truly leaves. Some days it will hurt as much as the first day. But I promise you. It gets better. Your family will get better.”

Cinder felt her eyes burning, but she didn't cry. 

“Thank you.” She said, and then she looked at Amber. “You didn't tell me your grandma was so deep.”

Both of them laughed.

“Well, child, don't you know? All old ladies are really wise.” The woman said, winking at her. Then, the phone rang, and she was going to get up, but Amber did first.

“Don't worry, I've got it.” She said. She walked towards the phone, and picked it up.“Hello?” There was a pause. “Hey, it's your uncle.” Amber told Cinder.

“What does he want?”

Amber didn't answer immediately. She listened to whatever Tai was telling her, and Cinder saw her expression change.

“No, they're not here. What happened?” She asked, and she opened her eyes. “What?”

“What's going on?” Cinder asked her.

“It's your cousins. They're gone.”

“Huh? What do you mean that they're gone?”

—————

When Cinder got home, Qrow was still screaming at Tai, but at least the girls were there. Ruby was in her bedroom, sleeping unaware of what was going on (lucky her) but Yang was down there, listening to the whole conversation, just like her.

“How can you be so fucking irresponsible to get out and leave your kids alone like this?” Qrow yelled at Tai, who was hiding his face between his hands. “Are you fucking insane or you just don't care anymore?”

“Qrow, I...”

“No, you are going to shut the fuck up and listen to me!” He told him. Cinder had never seen him so mad. “Look, I know. You miss Summer, I miss her too, we all do. But you still have two daughters to take care of. I'm here to help you, but I can't do this alone, either. I can be your friend, Ruby and Yang's uncle and Cinder's father, but I can't be the uncle, the father and the mother for all of you! I just can't. So please, I'm begging you. Help me help you, or we're both gonna end up losing more than our damn minds here!” 

Cinder closed her eyes, and she crouched down, and took Yang's hand.

“Hey.” She said. “Let's go to my room, okay?”

Yang nodded. She was as quiet as she could get, as she followed Cinder upstairs. She told Yang with her head to come and sit with her on the bed, and the both of them sat in front of each other with their legs crossed.

“Now, can you tell me why you took Ruby to the woods in a cart?”

“I didn't want her to stay alone. I promised Mom I'd take care of her.”

“By taking her and going all by yourselves inside a forest infested with Grimm?”

Yang looked away.

“Are you mad?”

“No, I'm not.” Cinder said. “I just wanna know why you did it.”

Yang sniffed. She took her hand inside her pocket, and took out something: a picture of a blackhaired woman with red eyes standing in front of a cabin.

“This is about Raven?” Cinder asked, raising her eyebrows. 

“I just-- I recognized that cabin from when Ruby and I were walking through the forest once with Dad. So I thought that if I could get there, maybe I could find a clue of where she is. I guess I just... I just wanted to find her because I thought that if I did, I wouldn't be so sad anymore. That maybe I could ask her why she left, and...” Yang put her head down. “It's dumb, I know.”

“No, it isn't.” Cinder said, shaking her head.

“I just miss Summer. And learning that she isn't my mom...”

“Don't say that.” Cinder told her. “You are Summer's daughter.”

“But--”

“Look, I actually never talk about it, but I remember my parents. The biological ones, I mean.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Not much, of course, because I was really little. But I do remember their faces, and when they... sold me to the orphanage.” Yang's expression turned sadder when she said that. “After that, I was raised there, and when I was around nine, I was ‘adopted’ again by that woman in Atlas. And... well, you know she treated me badly, but you don't know how badly. She never fed me, she forced me to work and let her daughters treat me badly too. And I see how you sometimes look at the scar,” she pointed at her neck “and yes, she did that too.”

She stopped for a few seconds, closing her eyes, trying to make the memories go away. Cinder opened them.

“So yeah, life there was pretty miserable. But you know what happened then?” She asked. Yang shook her head, with an slightly horrified expression at the story she'd just told. “Your uncle showed up. He appeared at the hotel, and he helped me, and threw that woman in jail, and then he adopted me and took me here. He did for me what no one else had ever done, not even my ‘real’ parents. He cared about me. He's helping me, he's raising me and he loves me. And I love him, and he is my real father, no matter if we're blood related or not. Just like Taiyang is my uncle, and Summer was my aunt, and you and Ruby are my cousins. You are my family regardless of blood. Or am I not your cousin?”

“No, you are. You are.”

“Because?”

“We love each other.”

“Exactly. Blood doesn't make families, love does. And Summer loved you more than anything, just as much as she loved Ruby. So she was your mother. Don't ever think otherwise, okay?”

Yang nodded.

“Now, when it comes to Raven, that's up to you, if you wanna meet her or not.” Cinder said. “I understand why you would want answers from her, even though if I, myself, don't want to have anything to do with my biological family. So I'm not gonna tell you to stop if you don't want to. But what you did today was stupid, and it could've gotten you and Ruby killed if Qrow hadn't appeared in time. You realize that, right?”

Yang nodded again, head down.

“So, even if I'm not gonna tell you to stop, what I am gonna ask you is to be patient. Slow down a little, okay? Because you aren't gonna be able to find anyone if you're dead.”

Cinder sounded a bit harsher than she intended, but when she saw Yang's face, she knew that the message had gotten her. She then hugged Cinder.

“Thank you.”

“No worries.” She said, smiling sadly. 

“I've been so angry all this time--”

“Tell me about it. I broke a leg this morning.

“Huh? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it wasn't mine. Now, let's go and-”

“Yang? Cin?”

They looked at the door, and saw little Ruby fretting her eye.

“Hey, little one.” Cinder said. “Are you okay?”

“I'm hungry.” She said.

“We all are.” Cinder told her. “How about you two take a bath while I ask Dad and Uncle Tai what's for dinner?”

Ruby nodded. 

“Okay. Let's get you both in the tube, okay?”

Cinder took them both to the bathroom, and prepared the water. She then helped the girls get off their dirty clothes and get in.

“Yang, watch Ruby. Don't do anything weird while I'm gone, okay? And call us when you need to get out.”

They both nodded, as Cinder got out of the bathroom and got downstairs, where Qrow was still dissing Tai. 

“Hey.” She said, and they both looked at her. “Ruby and Yang are taking a bath, and we're hungry. So you both stop arguing and prepare something for dinner before they get out. Or I can make it, if you want.”

Qrow looked at Tai, and then at her, and he sighed.

“I'll make some steaks.” He said, before disappearing inside the kitchen. Cinder looked at Tai, who was still hiding his face between his hands.

“Are you okay, Uncle Tai?”

He took a minute to answer.

“Not really.” He said. Then raised his head. “But I will be.”

“Cin!” They heard Ruby's voice from the bathroom. “We're done!”

“I--”

“No.” Tai said, getting up from the couch. He messed with Cinder's hair. “I'll get them. Don't worry.”

And so he did.

Dinner was weird, really weird and quiet. Once finished, Tai took his daughters upstairs, to get them to bed. Qrow looked at her.

“Would you like some hot chocolate before bed?”

Cinder nodded.

“Okay...” He took the chocolate from the fridge, and then he poured a good bunch of it on the floor. “Damn it!”

“It's okay...” Cinder went to get the mop, but he shook his head.

“No, let me...”

“No.” Cinder said, firmly. “I want to clean that.”

“I don't want to force you to...”

“You're not forcing me to do anything!” She said, losing her cool for a second. Relax, she told herself. Control. “A twelve year old kid helping a little in the house is not bad. I'm just going clean a bit of chocolate from the floor, or set the table, or take care of Ruby and Yang because I want to help, not because you're putting a shock collar on my neck.”

Qrow looked at her, while she got the mop. Cinder glanced at him.

“Well, don't stop right there. I still want the chocolate.” She said, before starting to clean. Qrow smiled a bit, and sighed.

“As you order, kid.” He said.

Once they finished their hot chocolate, Qrow took a short shower and so did Cinder after he finished. She then got on her pajamas, and was going to say goodnight to him when she saw Qrow looking through Tai's door, smiling a bit.

“What is it?”

“Come and see, kid.”

She looked. And she saw Tai sleeping on his bed, with Ruby and Yang both hugging him, dreaming as well.

Cinder smiled too.

———————

It took Cinder some time, but she finished building her weapon by May next year. 

It was not building what took her some time, but deciding what she wanted. She was good at swordmanship. At archery. So of course she was going to get a sword or a bow. But after some thinking, she finished designing it: two scimitar swords that, if you put then together, formed a bow. She wasn't bad at dual swords, either.

So she was sitting at the porch, cleaning her new swords, as Ruby sat beside her. 

Things had gotten better in the house. Tai was getting help, and he was starting to be look a bit happier, though he still had to take some meds for his depression. Qrow didn't seem as stressed out as before, and the girls looked considerably happier as well. Though Yang was taking her Big Sister role too seriously, Cinder thought often. But then again, so was her, in a way.

That morning, Tai had taken Yang to the doctor to give her some shots (Cinder pitied whoever was giving her the shots, remembering the red eyes she got when she got pissed). Qrow was inside, dealing with some weird business in a scroll call. Cinder thought she'd heard him say Ozpin's name. 

So Ruby was with her in the porch. The four year old girl was gawking at the swords, looking at them like they were the most beautiful thing ever.

“So cool.” Ruby said, fascinated. “You named them?”

“Yeah. Midnight.” Cinder replied. She actually had come up with the name because she betted to Amber that she could finish it before midnight. And it sounded cool. “I can put them together and make a bow with them.”

“Cool...” Ruby said, still gawking, and Cinder chuckled a bit. “But why a bow and not a gun?”

“I... just like archery more.” She said, remembering the evenings with Summer. Cinder wondered what she would say if she saw she had gotten a weapon of her own. She smiled sadly.

“Will you win the tournament with them?” Ruby asked her.

“Well, I don't know if I'll win. But I'll participate next year, yeah.” Cinder said.

“You'll win. Your weapon is cool.”

“I don't think having a cool weapon is enough to win.” Cinder said, trying not to laugh.

“Well, it should be.” Ruby said. “Can I use it?” Ruby pointed at one of the swords. Cinder doubted for a second. But she accepted after realizing something.

“Be careful.” She said. Cinder tried not to laugh when Ruby tried to lift the sword but couldn't.

“It's super heavy! How can you lift them?”

“It's not that heavy. You're just four and still too weak to lift it.”

“I'm not weak!” Ruby pouted. “You're just too tall and strong.”

Okay, she wasn't entirely wrong about that. Cinder was a stronger and a bit taller than most twelve year olds.

“And anyway, one day I'll be as big and strong as you. And I don't want a sword. I want a big scythe like Uncle Qrow's.”

“A big scythe?” Cinder blinked.

“And it will be a gun too.” Ruby nodded.

A part of her couldn't imagine that small child swinging a huge scythe around and killing monsters, but the determination in her big silver eyes let Cinder know she wasn't kidding.

“Well, then you're gonna have to drink a lot of milk.”

“Huh? Why?”

“To help you grow up.”

“Milk helps you grow up?” Ruby said, surprised.

“Yeah.”

“Well, then I'm gonna drink right now--”

“Woah, hold up a minute, Little Red. You just had a big glass during breakfast.”

“But you just told me I had to drink a lot!”

“But not immediately!” Cinder laughed. “You're gonna end up constipated.”

“What's that?”

“Well, that's when you can't--” Cinder saw Ruby getting up from the porch, and running to the bushes. Cinder got up too, getting her swords. “Hey, where are you going?!”

“I saw some blueberries here yesterday!” Ruby said.

“Ruby, wait!” Cinder said, following her; that kid was surprisingly fast. 

She found her already into the forest, right beside a bush of blueberries.

“See?”

“That's fantastic.” Cinder told her. “But you can't get into the forest alone. So don't run like that again, is that clear?”

Ruby nodded, and Cinder was going to say something else, but then she heard a strange grunt. She immediately activated her Aura, as she heard something moving.

“Ruby, run to the house.” 

“You just told me not to run--”

“Forget it. Run to the house and call my dad. Now.” She said, as calmly as she could. 

Ruby was going to, but then, the Grimm attacked.

It was a Boarbatusk, Cinder realized when she got Ruby and her out of the way. It hit itself against a tree, falling for a few seconds. It turned again to them, ready to charge.

“Go call my Dad, now!” She told Ruby, and the kid started to run as fast as she could as the Boarbatusk charged again. Cinder jumped over it, clashing her swords on its loin, but it only hit the silver plate. 

Cinder groaned, when the Grimm hit itself against a rock again. It charged, and again, Cinder jumped over it, and failed to break the plate once more. It seemed to be invulnerable. It then hit her with its tusks, knocking her a couple of meters away. She immediately got up, and got out of its way right before it clashed against another tree. She saw its belly for a second as it fell over its back, and she got an idea, as she ran and positioned in front of another tree.

“Hey!” She called it. The Boarbatusk charged again, this time spinning, and Cinder jumped over it right before it hit her. It fell over its loin again, and Cinder didn't waste any time; she plunged her scimitars into its belly. It squealed, before dying. 

She took out her swords, relieved. Then she heard something behind her. Cinder turned around and saw Qrow with Harbinger in gun mode.

“Are you okay?” Qrow asked her, getting closer to her, and Cinder nodded. He looked at the dead Boarbatusk. “Damn, that was a good kill for a kid.”

“Uh, thanks?”

Qrow smiled, as he messed with her head.

“You just killed your first Grimm. Great job.” He said. “Now let's go back inside before more come. Yang and Tai are already back.”

They walked quickly into the house. They found Tai inside the kitchen, with Ruby and Yang.

“Cin!” Ruby said. “Cin, are you okay?”

“Yeah, she is, don't worry.” Qrow said. “That Boarbatusk, on the other hand, isn't anymore.”

“Did you kill it?” Yang asked him.

“Nah, she had just dealt with it right before I got there.”

“You killed a Boarbatusk?” Tai said, looking at Cinder, impressed.

“Um, yeah.”

“Damn. Most kids' first Grimm kill are easier stuff, like a small Beowolf or something like that. Killing a Boarbatusk at twelve is actually pretty impressing. How'd you kill it?”

“I realized it was mostly invulnerable because of the bone plates, so I made it crash into a tree and when it fell over its back I stabbed it in the belly.”

Tai nodded, aproving.

“Smart. I like it.”

“Look at her, killing dangerous beasts already. Kids grow up so fast.” Qrow said, messing with her head again, and Cinder smiled. “I'll take you on a small trip to the forest one of these days. To train you a little bit with the Beowolves.”

“No fair! Ruby and I wanna go on Grimm-killing trips too!” Yang complained, pouting.

“When you grow up a bit, maybe.” Cinder teased them. Ruby squinted, as she grabbed a chair and walked towards the fridge.

“Ruby, what--?” Tai said, when he saw her open the door of the fridge and get up in the chair. “Sweetie, what are you doing--?”

“Drink milk!” She said, as Cinder bursted out laughing.

—————

Cinder was thirteen when she won the Vale Regional Tournament for the first time. Getting to participate was a pain itself, because not only had she to have a good level in fighting: she had to get at least B+ in all the theory classes, and considering she had never gone to school until two years ago, it was hard for her, but she did it.

She had been the youngest participant, so it had been surprising for everyone when she won. But mostly for Cinder, who was recieved at Signal as the hero of the school. Literally, everywhere she went, she recieved pats in her back from students from all the ages and teachers. It seemed like she had truly gone from the scary kid with anger issues (that she had been dealing with; Aunt Summer was right, relaxation exercises worked with both triggers and anger) to the most popular girl in Signal in a couple of days.

And as a gift a few weeks later, Qrow also gave her her first scroll.

“I want you to use this responsibly, okay, kid?” He told her.

Cinder nodded solemnly. Qrow then grinned.

“Now, it's time I kick your ass in videogames.” He said, and she grinned too.

“You'll never beat me, old man.”

“Hey, don't call me old!”

“No fair!” Ruby said, pouting. “Yang and I want scrolls too.”

“She's almost eight years older than you. You'll get them when you're older.” Tai told them, but he got his own scroll and sat with Qrow and Cinder so he could play with them.

“But we want to play too!” Yang complained.

“I'll let you two use my scroll to play later.” Cinder promised, and Yang and Ruby hugged her. “But only for a little while! And the gods help you hide if you break it!”

“I don't know about that. I've heard this videogame makes kid violent.” Tai said.

“Have you met Yang? Your daughter is already violent.” Qrow told him.

“I am a very well behaved kid!” Yang said, and they all laughed.

Time went on, and things were okay. Tai was much better, the kids were doing fine, and so was Qrow. And Cinder was doing even better, at least in academic terms. She was doing amazing in school, surpasing every level, and improving her own weapon. She had also gotten a lot better with her semblance, which she called Scorching Caress. Her favorite attack was when she heated the ground, made blades of glass and then threw them at the enemy.

Cinder won the Vale Regional Tournament again when she was fourteen, and once again when she turned fifteen. When she went to Vale with the family or with Amber for shopping, some people recognized her, and she became even more famous when, at sixteen and after winning for the fourth time (and the last time, because she would be leaving for Beacon next year).

Yang and her were coming back from Signal that day. Yang had just started a few months ago, and she was already getting the teachers' attention because how good she was at Hand to Hand Combat class. She was excitedly telling Yang about her day on the way home, until they arrived, and they saw a strange car right beside theirs.

“Looks like we have visit.” Cinder observed, raising her eyebrow.

“Cin!” They saw Ruby getting out of the house. The eight year old ran excitedly towards them. “Cin, they want your face to be on the boxes!”

“Huh?” Cinder asked, confused.

“What boxes?” Yang asked her.

“The bunny ones!”

“What bunny?”

It didn't take her long to find out, she just had to get in the house. Apparently, Pumpkin Pete, a very famous trend of cereal, wanted to her to appear on its boxes. It was an honor, it was said, as the company apparently only put famous athletes.

At first, she didn't want to appear on them. She didn't even like the cereal; she ate it because the other two kids liked it, and her childhood had taught her not to be a picky eater. But to be honest, it tasted like shit. But when she saw Ruby and Yang begging her with those annoyingly adorable faces, she just couldn't resist. So now everywhere she went to, people recognized Cinder and asked her for pictures or kids brought their cereal boxes to school so she could sign them, which was a little stressing. Besides, Amber had started calling her ‘Miss Pumpkin Pete’ to annoy her, and she didn't have another nickname to attack back.

“Everyone, everyone!” Amber teased her in the middle of the school hallways. “Let Miss Pumpkin Pete pass before she's late to class!” Amber stopped for a second. “Huh. It rhymed.”

“I'm going to kill you if you keep calling me that.”

“How do you want me to call you then?”

“My name, perhaps?”

“Okay. Cinder Bunny, it is.” Amber said. Cinder tried to get her, but Amber had already started running, laughing, and Cinder couldn't catch her. She really hated speed semblances.

In school, Cinder was also now expected to be an example for younger kids (which, considering Yang had started that year, it was difficult; half of the time she or Qrow and Tai had to stop her from fighting in the middle of the courtyard). She was also quite popular; not only because she was a good fighter, and like a celebrity, now. Cinder had home from being a thin, insecure, abused child to a happy, confident, and gorgeous teenager who went around breaking hearts without even realizing.

Tai teased Qrow about it, telling him that he needed to keep an eye on her. However, Qrow wasn't exactly a protective father; he knew Cinder could take care of herself with a boy. But he wasn't exactly worried about any boys, either, because Cinder ignored every boy that asked her out, and clearly focused more on the girls, anyway. 

And then, Cinder turned seventeen, and January arrived. The Huntsmen Academies entrance exams. 

Cinder hadn't really needed to do the exam; after winning her fourth tournament, she had gotten an invitation from Atlas Academy's Headmaster himself, James Ironwood, to join its school a year earlier. However, she hadn't accepted. She didn't want to visit Atlas again, unless it became strictly necessary when she became an actual Huntress. And she wanted to go to Beacon, anyway. It had been the reason why she had trained so hard these past years: so Amber and her got to go to the same academy their families had attended to. So, she did the exam. It consisted on physical trials for agility and skill, and an actual fight against a Grimm under a controlled environment. Too easy, Cinder thought; she lived in Patch. Grimm sometimes got closer to the house, and she had been killing them with her weapons without any help since she was twelve. Qrow often took her to small trips to kill Beowolves and Ursai in the forest. So those trials and killing that Ursa were as easy as it gets. 

Cinder just hoped she had scored high enough to choose her own academy. Theorically, students always got to choose which one they wanted to attend. But sometimes too many students applied for the same one to the point that they ran out of spots, and the ones who applied first or with the highest scores were prioritized. The others had to choose another academy.

The results would be sent in February, around a month before the spring semester started. Cinder spent the rest of January as nervous as she could get. All of the house noticed, because she baked a lot of cookies or cooked all the time, and she usually cooked when she was nervous. Call it a way to cope. At least she was great at it. 

Then, at February 18th, Amber and her grandmother got to the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen house at dawn. Tai was already awake (he always woke up early) and opened the door.

“Oh, hey, Amber. Hey, professor”

“Good morning, Tai. I'm sorry to bother you but...” 

“Where's Cinder?” Amber asked.

“Uh, she's still asleep. Why?”

“The results. We just got them.”

Tai blinked.

“CINDER! GET DOWN HERE!” He yelled, probably waking up more than her. And he did.

“For fuck's sake, Taiyang, it's still 5:30 in the morning! It's Saturday!” He heard Qrow yell from his room. They heard steps, and then they saw Cinder going downstairs in her pajamas, followed by him and the kids.

“Amber?” She said, fretting her eye. Cinder yawned. “What are you doing here...?”

“The results!” Amber showed her the scroll. “They're here!”

Cinder blinked, suddenly very awake.

“What?! What did you get?!”

“I don't know, dumbass! I wanted to open them together!” She said.

“Hold on a second!” Cinder ran back to her room, and came back with her scroll in her hand. “Got it! Let's see them!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, both of you.” Qrow said, though he was actually as nervous as the teens. “Let's get off the stairs before one of us falls or something.”

Both of the teens sat on the couch, being surrounded by Tai, Qrow, Persephone, Yang and Ruby. The last two were as impatient as them.

“Come on, I wanna see!” Ruby urged them.

Cinder and Amber took their scrolls. Cinder saw the message.

«BRANWEN, CINDER: Huntsman Academy entrance exam. Please open the link below to see the results.»

Cinder and Amber looked at each other, both shaking of the anxiety.

“At the count of three, we open it together.” Amber said. “One... two... three!”

Cinder clicked at the same time as Amber, and she read the words that appeared on her screen.

«CONGRATULATIONS, BRANWEN, CINDER. SCORE: 100/100.»

Please apply for the Huntsman Academy you wish to attend before February 25th.»

“98/100!” Amber yelled.

“MAX SCORE!” Cinder yelled too, and they got up from the couch yelling and hugging each other. “DUDE, WE DID IT! WE DID IT!”

“Congratulations, you two.” Persephone said, hugging her granddaughter. “I never doubted you'd make it.”

“I'm so proud of you, kid.” Qrow messed with Cinder's hair, smiling.

“Well, well, wait.” Tai said. “Now you gotta send your appliances, and it'll be official.”

Cinder and Amber nodded, taking their scrolls again. Qrow got away.

“What is it?”

“What if because of me you end up applying for Atlas?” He said. “Better be safe.”

Cinder laughed a bit, as she looked at the scroll.

«PLEASE CHOOSE ONE OF THE ACADEMIES:

SHADE ACADEMY (KINGDOM OF VACUO)

ATLAS ACADEMY (KINGDOM OF ATLAS)

BEACON ACADEMY (KINGDOM OF VALE)

HAVEN ACADEMY (KINGDOM OF MISTRAL)»

Cinder pressed ‘Beacon Academy’ ready to send.

“Alright, at the count of three!” Tai said. “One... two... two and a half... two and three quarters...”

“C'mon!” Yang said.

“Three!”

Both her and Amber pressed ‘send’. It didn't take longer than a few seconds until they got another message.

«You have been accepted in Beacon Academy. You will be expected in the auditorium the 20th of March at 17:00 for the annual speech. We will provide you with your uniform, so there is no need for students to buy it. Congratulations.

Glynda Goodwitch»

A second message appeared, and Cinder checked it, and raised her brow.

“A... license?” Amber said, narrowing her eyes.

“It's the Student License. All students have it.” Persephone said, with a proud smile.

“I should have given them another pic.” Amber wrinkled her nose.

“They put the Pumpkin Pete one in mine.” Cinder sighed.

All of them laughed.

“Well, this is a thing now. You two are officially Huntresses in Training.”

————————

Cinder was trying to leave, but Yang and Ruby were hanging off her arms.

“You kids are messing with my outfit.” She said, sighing. Cinder had gotten a new style before going to school. Her hair had grown longer since she'd last cut it a year ago. She also wore a new red qipao like short dress with no sleeves and yellow details, cuts on the sides, black shorts beneath it and black knee laced heeled boots. She also wore new black ruby earrings. It was a shame that no one got to see the tattoo on her back that she had gotten when she turned seventeen, but she was satisfied.

“But we don't want you to goooo.” Ruby complained, not letting go do her arm.

“I have to, or I'm gonna miss the airship, not get to Beacon and then I won't be able to be Huntress like you two. Is that what you want?” Cinder raised her brow.

“Nooo...” Yang said.

“Then let go.” 

The kids obliged, looking really sad as Cinder crouched down to talk to them at their level.

“You promise you'll come visit us?” Ruby asked.

“Of course.”

“Every weekend?” 

“Well, not every weekend, but some of them. And the holidays, too.” Cinder promised them. She looked at Yang. “Now, you promise me you're not gonna get in much trouble while I'm not home, and that you're gonna take care of Ruby.”

Yang nodded, solemnly.

“Ruby, promise me that you're making sure your sister doesn't get in much trouble and that you'll take care of her too.”

“Of course.”

“Good.” Cinder hugged them both, and smiled. “And don't be sad. Before you even realize you both will be leaving for Beacon too, you'll see. Now take care of each other, okay?”

“Okay!”

She then hugged her uncle.

“Take care, okay? And send us a message when you're in Vale and get on the Beacon airship.” Tai said.

“Of course.”

“Enjoy, kid.” Qrow said when he hugged her. “And don't forget about the learning part.”

“I won't.” She said with a smile. She took her suitcase and went up the airship, with some other students from Signal that were also going to Beacon. “Goodbye!”

“Goodbye!”

“Bye, kid!”

“Bye, Cin!”

“We'll miss you!”

Cinder beamed, as she sat by Amber. Her friend had also gotten a new outfit: an off-white blouse with frill detailing on the shoulders, alongside a brown vest that had three straps and golden lining around the collar. She had a dark brown corset with matching pants, as well as a pair of brown thigh-high boots with large cuffs and golden armour plating covering the boots up to her knees. She also had a new amber pendant on her vest, and spaulders on her shoulders. Her hair was even longer than Cinder's, tied in a ponytail.

She grinned at Cinder.

“You ready?”

Cinder grinned too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Initiation: part 1

Cinder texted Tai and Qrow once they got to Vale, since they had to get on a bigger airship to get to Beacon with all the other First Years. No one vomited, which was good, Cinder thought. 

Once they got off the airship, Cinder looked around with her eyes opened like plates. That place was huge, way bigger than she'd imagined. The campus was as big as the forest her house was in, and it just, and no matter the angle, she could see the CCT Tower everywhere.

“Well, it hasn't changed at all.” Amber said, smiling with her hands on her hips. “It's as huge and beautiful as ever.”

“Where do we go now?” Cinder asked.

“Grandma said that we gotta head to the auditorium.”

“Well, where is that?”

Amber shrugged, and Cinder frowned.

“You've told me you've been here a lot of times before.”

“Yeah, like ten years ago! I don't remember where things are! I never even set foot on the auditorium!” Amber defended herself, and Cinder grunted, then looked at the rest of the students.

“Whatever. Just follow the flock, I guess.” She said.

“You sound like your uncle.”

“Shut up. And walk faster. For someone with a speed semblance, you walk like you were stepping on eggs.”

“Fuck off.”

As they followed the rest of the new students, Cinder kept looking everywhere. She saw some people carrying their weapons in their hands, as if they were trying to show off. Cinder prefered to keep Midnight where it was, though, not wanting to call too many attention. However, that turned out impossible, because one of the students saw her and pointed at her.

“Hey, aren't you Cinder Branwen?”

Cinder tried not to sigh, as some other students turned to look at her too, opening their eyes. 

“Yep, that's me.” 

“Dude, that's awesome! Can you give me an autograph for my little brother later? He is a huge fan of yours. He loves you eversince you appeared in the Pumpkin Pete's boxes.”

Cinder blinked, and smiled as kindly as she could. 

“Yeah, sure. See you later.” She said, and started to walk faster, separating a bit from the rest of students. By her side, Amber laughed.

“What is it, Miss Pumpkin Pete? Ashamed of your fame?”

“I didn't think people would even remember that!”

“And I don't know why, considering your face is in every box, and people love that cereal.”

“It tastes like shit, though. I don't get how people like it.” Cinder said, and Amber laughed again. “Hey, don't laugh like that. You're like, as good as I am. You could have been in my place if you had participated in the tournaments. Your lazy ass just didn't get good grades in theory.”

“And I'm happy I didn't. Now you're the popular fighter and a cereal celebrity, and I get to live in peace. Thank you very much.”

“Fuck you.”

“Now, a celebrity shouldn't speak like that, should they?”

Cinder showed her the middle finger, and Amber started laughing again.

“Anyway, people are gonna kill to be on your team.”

“Well, Dad did tell me that we don't get to choose our teammates, so many people are going to be disappointed.” Cinder said, with her hands on the back of her head. “We can look around to see which are the best ones and try to end up with them, though. Example, I want to end up on yours--”

“Aaawww, that's so sweet.” Amber said, hugging her. Cinder groaned.

“Not only because you're a badass and my best friend,” Cinder continued “but also so someone keeps your other teammates from killing you in your sleep because of your snoring.”

“Hey! I don't snore!”

“You sound like a fucking Ursa.”

“I do not!” 

Cinder laughed as Amber continued to complain. Then she raised her hand so Amber would shut up.

“The auditorium! It's there!”

“Holy shit, finally.” Amber said. “I feel like I've been walking for hours.”

“It was only ten minutes, you lazy shit.”

“Bah.”

They entered the auditorium. It was as huge as Cinder expected, and it was so full of students that she doubted they would get a good spot. However, a few people seemed to recognize her again, so they let her and Amber walk closer to the stage. A tall man with grey hair and glasses was on it, standing in front of a microphone. Cinder recognized him and the woman by his side immediately: Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. 

The auditorium fell in complete silence as the headmaster began to speak.

“I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people.” Ozpin paused for a second, looking at all of them. “But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction.”

There was another pause, as some students started to whisper. But they silenced themselves again when he continued.

“You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far.” He paused again once again. “It is up to you to take the first step.”

That being said, he just left without saying anything else.

“You will gather in the ballroom tonight.” Glynda said, taking his place. “Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed.”

“That's all? Seriously?” Cinder said. 

“Well, that's one way to encourage people.” Amber said, arms crossed. “Did she say ballroom? Aren't we going to get dorms?”

“I guess we won't until the teams are formed.” Cinder said, and she then patted Amber's back. “Don't worry. I'll protect you and your snoring from all of these people.”

Amber groaned, and Cinder laughed again.

——————

“That one is really cute.” Amber said.

“Meh.” Cinder responded, just looking up from her scroll for a second and then continuing to use it.

They had placed their sleeping bags by the wall, in a quieter corner somewhat away from the noise that the other First Years. It was by the door, so many students that were coming back from the showers passed by them. Amber had actually just come back from the showers too. She always took longer than most people to shower.

“You've said that about every guy I pointed at.” Amber complained.

“Well, that's because you're asking the wrong person. All boys are ‘meh’ to me in that sense.” Cinder said. A group of guys coming from the showers passed by them, and she groaned. “Yuck. Why do all of them have to go around shirtless? This is exhibitionism.”

“Well, I'm not complaining at all.” Amber said, smiling at a particularly muscular guy who'd just winked at her. “And I bet you wouldn't complain if it were the girls who went around like this. Not that I would complain either.” Amber smirked, and Cinder sighed.

“Yeah, I would complain. Still exhibitionism.” Cinder shrugged, and Amber grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Alright, let's see the chicks, then. What about that one?” Amber said, and she pointed with her head at one. She had pink hair, pink eyes and pink pajamas with pink socks. It almost hurt her eyes.

“Cute, but too pink.” She answered, and Amber nodded, wrinkling her nose.

“Yeah, you're right. And that one?”

“Too emo.”

“Look who's talking.”

“Hey, I'm not emo!”

“Yeah, luckily you already went through that phase when we were twelve.” Cinder tried to hit her, and Amber laughed. “What about that one?”

She pointed at a girl with blonde hair in a braid, sitting alone as she read a magazine.

“Yeah, she's cute. But we should be looking for teammates, not people to date.”

“First of all, why can't they be both? Second, who said anything about dating?” Amber raised her eyebrows suggestively, and Cinder sighed.

“You're a lost cause and I'm embarrassed to be your friend.” Cinder said, shaking her head.

“Nah, you love me, don't lie.” Amber said, and Cinder smiled but rolled her eyes. 

Another girl passed by, and Cinder noticed that as she entered the door, her scroll fell off her pocket. Cinder picked it up and got up.

“Hey!” She called, trying to be heard over the noise. “You dropped your--” 

Her future classmate turned around. The girl had her long, white hair down, still humid from the shower. She was tall, around Cinder's height but a bit more built than her, Cinder noticed because of her sleeveless white shirt. Her pale blue eyes had a somewhat calculating look as she posed them on Cinder, like analyzing her. Cinder forgot what she wanted for a second, and she blinked. 

“Um... Y-you dropped your scroll.” Cinder said, handing her the device.

“Oh.” She said. Her voice was deeper than Cinder thought it would be. She took the scroll, brushing her hand with Cinder's for a second. It was cold. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Cinder said. The girl was going to keep walking, and Cinder, like every time she wanted to flirt with a pretty girl, tried to compliment her. Normally she had enough time to think, so the compliments were good. Now she could only blurt out: “You have nice hands.”

Cinder cringed at her own words. The ice beauty raised one her eyebrows, her expression barely changing, but confussion clearly filled her eyes.

“Likewise.” She offered, clearly not knowing what else to say yo that. She nodded at Cinder, and continued to walk.

“Really? ‘You have nice hands?’” Amber told her, snickering, when she sat again.

“Shut up.” Cinder said embarrassed, still looking at the girl. 

“Seriously, what got into you? You're not me, but you are better than that.”

“Look, I was taken by surprise, okay?” Cinder said gritting her teeth. “I didn't even want to flirt and I wasn't expecting her to be like! I'll be better next time.”

“Dude, you're still gawking.” Amber snickered.

“I mean... have you seen her?” Cinder said. “Who the hell is that?”

“Her name is Winter--”

“Pretty name. Like h--”

“Schnee.”

Cinder froze for a second.

“What--? You mean like--?”

“The Schnee Dust Company?” Amber finished. “Yep. She's the heiress, actually.”

Cinder blinked.

“All right, forget I said anything.” She said, looking at her scroll again.

“Hey, I talked to her earlier. She let me use her shampoo because I had forgotten mine here. She's actually nice.”

“Is she, though?”

“Yeah. I mean, kinda weird... and really snobby but... nice. A little shy, actually. I think she was homeschooled or something, because she doesn't seem to know how to talk to people her age.” Amber wrinkled her nose.

“That's weird. Her family could buy a lot of friends for her.”

“C'mon, you don't even know her. I just told you she's snobby but nice.”

“But her family isn't nice.” Cinder raised her gaze at her. “Why is she here, anyway? She's the heiress and she comes to a Huntsmen Academy here when she has one practically in front of her house?”

Amber shrugged.

“Who knows. I already told you she is a bit weird. And don't pretend you don't like her now. Considering your ‘compliment’, I'd say you already want her hands on-” Cinder hit her with a pillow, and Amber laughed. “On your hair, caressing it softly.”

“Remind me again why you're my best friend.”

“Because your social skills still need work.”

“Ass. My social skills are okay.”

“Okay, ‘Nice Hands’. Anyway, who are you texting so much?”

“It's just Yang and Ruby with my uncle's scroll. Look, they just sent a pic.”

She showed Amber a picture of the two little girls, pouting, with the caption ‘Miss you.’

“Let's send them another one.” Amber said, and Cinder took a pic of the two of them pouting too, with the caption ‘Miss you too.’

Then, they were all startled by someone entering the ballroom all of sudden, and they saw Glynda Goodwitch with her hands on her hips.

“Alright, everyone go to bed now.” Goodwitch ordered, and she then looked at a group of boys, frowning. “And put on a shirt, for Heaven's sake.”

——————

The next morning, everyone was complaining because someone wouldn't stop snoring, so Amber was pretty quiet during breakfast while Cinder wouldn't stop laughing. After that, they headed to the locker rooms.

“I still don't get what are these things for.” Cinder said. “Rocket propelled lockers. Are you serious?”

“Hey, you can call it when you're fighting a Grimm and just CRUSH it into the ground.” Amber said, shrugging.

“Yeah. And I could also lock you inside and send you far away if you get too annoying.”

“Oh, fuck off, you little shit.”

“Don't call me little. I'm taller than you.”

Amber's response was interrupted by the intercom system:

“Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation?” They heard Glynda Goodwitch say. “Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.”

——————

The cliff was pretty high, Cinder thought, as they overlooked the forest. Cinder looked around to other students, Glynda and Ozpin in front of them. They all were standing inside squares that looked like launching platforms. If it weren't because it was the first day, Cinder would have thought they were going to launch them off the cliff.

Ozpin took a sip from his mug.

“For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest.” He said, while Glynda checked the lists. She raised her gaze.

“Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion.” She said. “Each of you will be given teammates... today.”

Cool, Cinder thought.

“These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon.” Ozpin continued. “So it is clearly in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.”

Cinder and Amber looked at each other, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Amber winked at her, and Cinder grinned, nodding. They'd known each other for seven years now, and had been training together for that long. So it was obvious that they--

“That being said,” Ozpin resumed. “the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.”

“What?!” Cinder and Amber yelled in unison. Everyone looked at them.

Glynda raised her eyebrows.

“I'm sorry, Miss Branwen. Do you have anything to object?” She asked, with a tone as dangerous as the growl of an Ursa.

“Um-- no, Professor, not at all.” Cinder said, shaking her head.

“Well, do you, Miss Read? Would you like us to call your grandmother?”

Amber shook her head, frenetically.

“No, no, what she said.”

“Good, then.” Ozpin said. “After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die.”

“Awesome.” Cinder heard Amber whisper, but she quickly shut her mouth when she saw Glynda staring at her.

“You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?” Ozpin stopped. “Good! Now take your positions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm kind of a Snowfall/Cinwin shipper (or whatever the name actually is)

**Author's Note:**

> This work was doubled-checked for grammar mistakes by s4m-1hat on Tumblr. She also came up with the title. So go give her some love!  
> See you next time


End file.
